Direct Determination of Trace Tellurium in Geochemical Samples by Hydride Generation-Atomic Fluoresence Spectrmetry

A method for the direct determination of tellurium in geochemical samples by hydride generation-atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) was established. The sample was decomposed with mixed acid of HNO3-HF-HClO4. The instrumental parameters were optimized and the effect of some influencing factors such as HCl and KBH4 concentrations on Te determination were studied. The detection limit of the method for Te is 0.003~1 μg/g. The method has been applied to the determination of trace tellurium in National Standard Reference Geochemical Materials and the results are in agreement with certified values with precision of less than 6.10%RSD(n=11).