Experiment No.

- DATE: 21 / 11 /23

DETERMINATION OF METAL IONS USING FLAME PHOTOMETRY

Aim: To Identify Metal Ions Using a Flame Photometer

Materials Required:
Flame photometer – 1
Volumetric flasks (50 cm3) – 13
Volumetric flasks (100 cm3) – 4
Volumetric flasks (1dm3) – 2
Graduated pipette (10 cm3) – 2
Beakers (100 cm3) – 1
Weighing bottle

Principle: In a typical flame photometric experiment, a solution containing the relevant

substance to be analysed is aspirated into the burner and dispersed into the flame as a
fine spray. This process is called nebulization. In the flame, the solvent evaporates first,
leaving finely divided solid particles which move to the hottest region of the flame
where gaseous atoms and ions are produced. The atoms are excited by absorbing energy
available from the flame. As the excited atoms return to a ground state of lower energy,
radiation of wavelength, characteristic of the element, is emitted. The intensity of the
emitted radiation is then measured, which can be related to the concentration of the
element present, which forms the basis of quantitative analysis. MCH-003 course,
representing the processes occurring when the solution is aspirated into the flame is
reproduced here for you to review the same. When a solution containing Na+ and K+
is aspirated into the flame the light emitted is of different wavelengths (colours), for the
two ions. These can be measured by using appropriate coloured filters.

Element Emitted wavelength Flame colour

Potassium (K) 766 nm Violet

Lithium (Li) 670 nm Red

Calcium (Ca) 622 nm Orange

Sodium (Na) 589 nm Yellow

Parts of flame photometer:

A simple flame photometer consists of the following basic components:
 1. Source of flame: A Burner in the flame photometer is the source of flame. It can
be maintained at a constant temperature. The temperature of the flame is one of
the critical factors in flame photometry.
2. Nebuliser: Nebuliser is used to send homogeneous solution into the flame at a
balanced rate.
3. Optical system: The optical system consists of a convex mirror and convex lens.
The convex mirror transmits the light emitted from the atoms. Convex mirror
also helps to focus the emissions to the lens. The lens helps to focus the light on
a point or slit.
4. Simple colour filters: The reflections from the mirror pass through the slit and
reach the filters. Filters will isolate the wavelength to be measured from that of
irrelevant emissions.
5. Photo-detector: The intensity of radiation emitted by the flame is measured by
photo detector. Here the emitted radiation is converted to an electrical signal
with the help of photo detector. These electrical signals are directly proportional
to the intensity of light.

Procedure:

1. Place 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 cm3 respectively of the standard 100 ppm
Na+ or K+ ion solution in a series of 50 cm3 volumetric flasks labelled from
Nos 1 to 6.
2. Make the volume of the solution up to the mark with distilled water to obtain
standard solutions of 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 ppm Na/K solutions.
3. Calibrate the instrument by aspirating these solutions in the flame (Carefully
read the operating instructions provided with the instrument. You may discuss
the same with your counsellor before handling the instrument.)
4. Again place 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 cm3 respectively of the standard 100
ppm Na+ or K+ ion solution in another series of 50 cm3 volumetric flasks
labelled from 1′ to 6′.
5. In another 50 cm3 flask, labelled as ‘Sample’, take 10 cm3 of the unknown
sample.
6. Add 5 cm3 of 100 ppm Li+ ion standard solution to each of these flasks
containing the standard solution and the sample.
7. Make the volume of the solution up to the mark with distilled water. This
would give standard solutions of Na+ /K+ ions containing 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10
ppm of the respective ions and 10 ppm each of the internal standard Li+ ions.
8. Aspirate the standard solutions as well as the sample solution one by one into
the instrument and record the readings for the Na+ or K+ and the Li+ ions.
9. Calculate the intensity ratios of the Na+ / Li+ ion or K+ / Li+ ions, for the
standard as well as the sample solution and record the same in the column.
10. Draw a graph between the concentration of the standard Na+ (or K+) ion (on
the X-axis) versus the intensity ratio of the Na+ / Li+ (or K+ / Li+) ion (on the
Y-axis) in the graph.
 11. Determine the concentration of the given sample solution with the help of the
calibration curve.
12. Calculate the concentration of the sodium ions present in the unknown sample
solution by accounting for the dilution factor and report the value.

Applications of flame photometer:

1. Flame photometer can be applied both for quantitative and qualitative analysis
of elements. The radiations emitted by the flame photometer are characteristic
of a particular metal. Hence with the help of a Flame photometer, we can detect
the presence of any specific element in the given sample.
2. The presence of some group II elements is critical for soil health. We can
determine the presence of various alkali and alkaline earth metals in soil
samples by conducting flame tests and then the soil can be supplied with specific
fertilizer.
3. The concentrations of Na+ and K+ ions are very important in the human body
for conducting various metabolic functions. Their concentrations can be
determined by diluting and aspirating blood serum samples into the flame.
4. Soft drinks, fruit juices and alcoholic beverages can also be analyzed by using
flame photometry to determine the concentrations of various metals and
elements.

Reference:
• Flame Photometer: Principle, working procedure and applications |
Study&Score. (n.d.). https://www.studyandscore.com/studymaterial-
detail/flame-photometer-principle-components-working-procedure-
applications-advantages-and-disadvantages.
• Experiment-10 Flame Photometric Determination of Na+ And K+ Ions Using
Internal Standard Method. http://egyankosh.ac.in//handle/123456789/43312