Novel Atomic Absorption Spectrometers Enable Analysis of Non-Metals for the First Time

The High Resolution Continuum Source AAS technology (HR-CS AAS) now also enables the detection of non-metals using an AAS instrument, the contrAA® from Analytik Jena. Thanks to a Xenon lamp as continuous radiation source, any wavelength is available for measurement on the contrAA® – including molecular bands. By converting the non-metals into characteristic molecules, these can be detected using molecular absorption spectrometry (MAS).

Without extensive sample preparation the non-metals in the graphite furnace are converted quantitatively into the target molecule and then detected by way of spectrometry. It does not matter whether the non-metals are free anions or organically or inorganically bound in the sample. Thus a simple, fast and reliable spectrometric method for the detection of non-metals in almost any matrix and across a wide range of concentrations is available for the first time, e.g. of fluorine in water or toothpaste or of phosphorus in animal feed or seepage water.

Graphite furnace HR-CS MAS is as precise, robust and interference-free as graphite furnace AAS and not subject to any limitations regarding the chemical bonding, the pH value, the solvent or the sample matrix, reducing sample preparation to a minimum.

Simultaneous Multi-Element Analysis with High Resolution Continuum Source AAS (HR-CS AAS)
Analytik Jena furthermore enhances the range of applications of the revolutionary contrAA® product series by introducing the simultaneous analysis of several absorption lines in the measured spectral range. This offers great benefits especially in the relatively time-consuming graphite furnace technology, because several elements can be detected simultaneously using a single atomization.

One application example is the simultaneous detection of Ni, Fe and V in waste water. Low vanadium concentrations in the µg/l range are detected in parallel to Ni and Fe concentrations in the mg/l range in process water. The simultaneous measurement triples your sample throughput and the unique three-dimensional spectrum representation supports users in the rapid optimization of the atomizing parameters without additional empirical intermediate steps.

Simultaneous multi-element analysis with the contrAA® series offers: 
• Increase of the sample throughput
• Easy optimization of methods
• Savings in measuring time and sample volumes

HR-CS AAS in the contrAA® – from the technology leader in Jena!