In situ trapping of bismuthine in externally heated quartz tube atomizers for atomic absorption spectrometry

A modification of the externally heated quartz tube atomizer, making possible in situ trapping of bismuthine, is described. The very simple experimental set-up is thus capable of lossless collection at a high preconcentration ratio. The collection/volatilization efficiency is 100 ± 2.5%. For a collection time of 300 s (sample volume of 20 ml), the preconcentration ratio and detection limit (3σ), respectively, are 530 and 3.9 pg ml−1. The same approach is analytically useful also for stibine but not for arsine.