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Determination of Sulfur Content in Steel by Atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) (CAT#: STEM-ST-0173-WXH)

Introduction

Sulfur is usually an undesirable impurity in steel rather than an alloying element. In amounts exceeding 0.05% it tends to cause brittleness and reduce weldability. Alloying additions of sulfur in amounts from 0.10% to 0.30% will tend to improve the machinability of a steel.




Principle

Atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) is a method of chemical analysis that uses the intensity of light emitted from a flame, plasma, arc, or spark at a particular wavelength to determine the quantity of an element in a sample. The wavelength of the atomic spectral line in the emission spectrum gives the identity of the element while the intensity of the emitted light is proportional to the number of atoms of the element. The sample may be excited by various methods.

Applications

Common applications of atomic emission spectroscopy are in the analysis of trace elements in soils, water, metals, biological specimens, clinical specimens, food, physical evidence such as glass, and other solids.

Procedure

1. Prepare sample for analysis
2. Convert solution into aerosol
3. Introduce aerosol into excitation source
4. Atomization and excitation
5. Detection of emission lines

Materials

• ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) source
• Atomizer
• Monochromators
• Detectors
• Amplifiers