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Overview of Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Atomic absorption spectroscopy is an analytical technique used to determine elemental composition by heating samples and exposing them to light. It works by passing light from a lamp through a flame containing excited atoms from the sample. Each element absorbs light at a specific wavelength according to the Beer-Lambert law. This experiment aims to use atomic absorption spectroscopy to determine the copper concentration in samples by preparing copper standards, measuring their absorbance, and generating a calibration curve relating concentration and absorbance.

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67 views3 pages

Overview of Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Atomic absorption spectroscopy is an analytical technique used to determine elemental composition by heating samples and exposing them to light. It works by passing light from a lamp through a flame containing excited atoms from the sample. Each element absorbs light at a specific wavelength according to the Beer-Lambert law. This experiment aims to use atomic absorption spectroscopy to determine the copper concentration in samples by preparing copper standards, measuring their absorbance, and generating a calibration curve relating concentration and absorbance.

Uploaded by

Daniel Ismail
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
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INTRODUCTION

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy is an elemental analysis technique that is frequently


used in the environmental, metal, food, pharmaceutical, and chemical sectors to analyse
materials. Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) uses distinctive wavelengths of
electromagnetic radiation from a light source to identify components in liquid or solid
samples. Individual elements absorb wavelengths in different ways, and the absorbances of
these elements are compared to standards. Because of their specificity, sensitivity, accuracy,
simplicity, and cheap cost per analysis, AAS methods are chosen in the clinical laboratory.
(Smith, 2015). In fact, AAS takes use of the various wavelengths of light that are absorbed by
certain atoms. (Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) Information Thermo Fisher
Scientific - MY, 2021)

A solution containing the analyte is injected into a flame in AAS. The flame turns
samples into excitable free ground state atoms. A lamp generating light with a wavelength
specific to the atoms is passed through the flame, and the electrons in the atoms are activated
when the light energy is absorbed.

Figure 1: Schematic Diagram of AAS

The Beer Lambert law outlines the link between element concentration and light
absorption. The amount of light absorbed is proportional to the number of atoms in the flame
that have been stimulated from their ground state, according to the law. (Atomic Absorption
Spectroscopy, How Does AAS Work, AAS FAQs. Agilent, 2021)
The Beer Lambert Law defines the relationship between the concentration and
absorption of an absorbing species.
A= bc
         
Where:
A: is the absorbance (Abs). Abs is measured by the AAS.
: is the wavelength at which absorption is observed for the element of interest?
b: is the pathlength. For flame AAS, this is typically the path length through the flame
(along the burner) and is fixed for all measurements.
c: is the determined concentration of the element.

The main goal of this experiment is to use Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) to
determine the amount of copper (Cu). The experiment begin with preparing the 100 ppm of
copper (Cu) standard dilution with the addition of 1% (v/v) of concentrated nitric acid (1% =
1 ml). Then, a serial dilution of 0.5 ppm, 1.0 ppm, 1.5 ppm, 2.0 ppm, 2.5 ppm and 4.0 ppm
(Cu) standard solution was prepared. The prepared samples will be put through the AAS for
reading. The readings will show the amount of Fe present in each of the sample prepared.
Calibration curve will be obtained by the readings which show the relationship between the
Absorbance (Abs) and the Concentration (ppm).

OBJECTIVES

a) To optimize the burner system by flame AAS using standard solution.


b) To check the performance (sensitivity) of the atomic absorption spectroscopy using
standard solutions.
c) To prepare a serial dilution and generate a standard calibration curve
d) To determine the amount of copper (Cu) in the unknown sample
References
Smith, J. C. (2015). Direct Measurement of Zinc in Plasma by Atomic Absorption. Clinical
Chemistry, 1487.
Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) Information | Thermo Fisher Scientific - MY. (2021).
[Link]. [Link]
elemental-isotope-analysis/spectroscopy-elemental-isotope-analysis-learning-center/trace-
elemental-analysis-tea-information/[Link]
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, How Does AAS Work, AAS FAQs | Agilent. (2021).
[Link]. [Link]
flame-atomic-absorption-instruments/how-does-aas-work-aas-faqs

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