Course Objective:

In the past 20 years the number of instrumental techniques available to the chemist has grown exponentially. In order to help our participants keep up with this rapidly growing field, this course of chemical instrumentation will be a regular feature of The Chemists and Lab. technicians. The course modules are designed to serve as a brief introduction to emerging instrumental techniques with an outline of the underlying principles and major applications for analysis water, wastewater, crude oil and petroleum products, aqueous and nonaqueous solutions.

Course Outlines:

• Introduction

1. Extrapolation of past and current trends
2. Influences from science and technology
3. Influences from society, politics, and the economy
4. Past and current trends in atomic spectrometry

• Influence of technology transfer

1. Electronics and data manipulation
2. Metal-binding structures
3. Novel separation methods
4. Detector technologies

• Strengths and weaknesses of ICP-AES

1. Strengths and weaknesses of ICP-AES
2. ICP limitations

• Potential directions in ICP spectrometry
• Concluding considerations
• Fundamental Principles of Inductively Coupled Plasmas

1. Principles to inductively coupled plasma generation
2. Equilibrium in a plasma
3. Line intensities
4. Line profiles
5. Temperature definitions
6. Temperature measurements
7. Electron number density measurement
8. Ionic to atomic line intensity ratio
9. Active methods
10. Spatial profiles

• Temperature and electron number densities observed in analytical ICPs

1. Plasma perturbation
2. Multiline diagnostics

• Basic Concepts and Instrumentation for Plasma Spectrometry

1. Detection limits and sensitivity
2. ICP-Atomic emission spectrometry
3. Limits of detection
4. Axial systems
5. The sample introduction system
6. Detectors
7. Accuracy and precision
8. Instrumental drift
9. Matrix effects
10. Plasma effects
11. Spectral effects, interferences and background correction
12. Dynamic range
13. Multi-element capability and selectivity

• Instrumental overview

1. Radio-frequency generators
2. Torches
3. Spectrometers
4. Line isolation
5. Monochromators
6. Polychromators
7. Detectors
8. Photomultiplier tubes
9. Solid-state detectors
10. Nebulisers and spray chambers
11. Read-out devices, instrument control and data processing
12. Radial and axial plasmas
13. Instrumentation for high-resolution spectrometry
14. Micro-plasmas and plasma on a chip

• Aerosol Generation and Sample Transport

1. Introduction
2. Sample introduction characteristics of the ICP source
3. Liquid aerosol generation
4. Vapour generation

• Sampling strategy

1. Electrothermal vaporization
2. Fundamentals
3. Elemental fractionation
4. Instrumentation
5. The ablation chamber and transport system

• Ion Chromatography

1. Introduction
2. Historical Development
3. Principles of Ion Chromatographic Separation and Detection

• Instrumentation

1. Components of an Ion Chromatograph (IC) Instrument
2. General Considerations
3. Eluent
4. Pump
5. Gradient Formation
6. Sample Injector
7. Columns
8. Suppressor
9. Detector
10. Data Acquisition and Calculation of Results

• Resins and Columns

1. Introduction
2. Polymeric Resins
3. Resins and Columns for Ion Chromatography
4. Anion Exchangers
5. Cation Exchangers
6. Other Resins

• Detectors

1. Introduction
2. Conductivity Detectors
3. Ultraviolet-Visible (UV–Vis) Detectors
4. Fluorescence Detector
5. Electrochemical Detectors
6. Refractive Index Detector
7. Evaporative Light Scattering Detector (ELSD)
8. Other Detectors

• Principles of Ion Chromatographic Separations

1. General Considerations
2. Chromatographic Terms
3. Selectivity
4. Chromatographic Efficiency

• Anion Chromatography

1. Columns
2. Suppressed Anion Chromatography
3. Nonsuppressed Ion Chromatography
4. Coated Columns
5. Optical Absorbance Detection

• Cation Chromatography

1. Columns
2. Separations
3. Effect of Organic Solvents
4. Separation of Metal Ions with a Complexing Eluent