Study of spectral character of alkali metals using microwave plasma torch simultaneous spectrometer

A microwave plasma torch (MPT) simultaneous spectrometer was used to study the spectral character and the matrix effect on alkali metal ions in solution. The main parameters were optimized. The microwave forward power was 100 W. The argon flow rate that was used to sustain the Ar-MPT included the flow rate of carrier gas and the flow rate of support gas, which were 0.8 and 1.0 L/min, respectively. The HC1 concentration in the solution was 0.02 mol/L. The observation height was 9.0 mm. The detection limits of Li, Na, K, Kb, and Cs were 0.0003, 0.0004, 0.009, 0.07 and 2.4 mg/L, respectively, and the results obtained by the Ar-MPT were compared with those obtained by argon inductively coupled plasma (Ar-ICP) and argon microwave induced plasma (Ar-MIP). The interference effects of several matrix elements were also studied.