Bismuth(III) hydride generation, its separation and the determination of bismuth(III) by atomic absorption spectrometry using flow injection

A PTFE membrane backed by a stainless-steel screen was used to separate bismuth(III) hydride in a flow injection process. The atomic absorption signal gave a linear range of 0–50 p.p.b. of bismuth(III) in a sample size of 200 µl. Good precision (1.6% relative) and a low detection limit [0.17 ng of bismuth(III)] were observed. A sampling rate of up to 300 samples h–1 was obtained. Parameters and interfering ions which might affect the final atomic absorption signal of bismuth(III) were studied.