Purchase of an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometer

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This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Program will help the Department of Chemistry at Western Kentucky University acquire an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES). The instrument will be used in research investigations in the following areas: analysis of trace elements in fuels, analysis of gunshot residues, direct determination of elements in slurried solids, forensic soil analysis, analysis of elements in colonizing grasses, analysis of elements in tree growth rings, and elemental analysis of animal blood and excrement samples. Atomic emission spectrometry gives the direct elemental analysis of samples. Much interest has been directed toward the atomization of solids into the inductively coupled plasmas (ICP), by thermal vaporization of the sample followed by transport into the plasma in an inert carrier gas. ICP excited atomic emission lines of the elements allow for qualitative identification of the elements present in the sample. ICP-AES is most frequently used for multi element analysis in areas such as real-time process control, environmental monitoring, and electronic-grade materials manufacturing.