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POSTED ON MAY 8, 2013 BY DR. DEEPAK BHANOT

Interferences in Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Interference is a phenomena that leads to changes in intensity of the analyte signal in spectroscopy.
Interferences in atomic absorption spectroscopy fall into two basic categories, namely, non-spectral and
spectral.

Non-spectral interferences affect the formation of analyte items and spectral interferences result in
higher light absorption due to presence of absorbing species other than the analyte element.

Interference in Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Non-spectral interferences

Matrix interference

When a sample is more viscous or has different surface tension than the standard it can result in
differences in sample uptake rate due to changes in nebulization efficiency. Such interferences are
minimized by matching as closely as possible the matrix composition of standard and sample

Chemical interference

If a sample contains a species which forms a thermally stable compound with the analyte that is not
completely decomposed by the energy available in the flame then chemical interference exists. Refractory
elements such as Ti, W, Zr, Mo and Al may combine with oxygen to form thermally stable oxides. Analysis
of such elements can be carried out at higher flame temperatures using nitrous oxide – acetylene flame
instead of air-acetylene to provide higher dissociation energy. Alternately an excess of another element or
compound can be added e.g. Ca in presence of phosphate produces stable calcium phosphate which
reduces absorption due to Ca ion. If an excess of lanthanum is added it forms a thermally stable
compound with phosphate and calcium absorption is not affected.

Ionization interference

Ionization interference is more common in hot flames. The dissociation process does not stop at
formation of ground state atoms. Excess energy of the flame can lead to excitation of ground state atoms
to ionic state by loss of electrons thereby resulting in depletion of ground state atoms. In cooler flames
such interference is encountered with easily ionized elements such as alkali metals and alkaline earths.
Ionisation interference is eliminated by adding an excess of an element which is easily ionized thereby
creating a large number of free electrons in the flame and suppressing ionization of the analyte. Salts of
such elements as K, Rb and Cs are commonly used as ionization suppressants.

Spectral Interferences

Spectral interferences are caused by presence of another atomic absorption line or a molecular
absorbance band close to the spectral line of element of interest. Most common spectral interferences
are due to molecular emissions from oxides of other elements in the sample.

The main cause of background absorption is presence of undissociated molecules of matrix that have
broad band absorption spectra and tiny solid particles, unvaporized solvent droplets or molecular species
in the flame which may scatter light over a wide wavelength region. When this type of non-specific
adsorption overlaps the atomic absorption of the analyte, background absorption occurs. The problem is
overcome by measuring and subtracting the background absorption from the total measured absorption
to determine the true atomic absorption.

Interferences are corrected using background correction techniques which are discussed in the
next module.

Filed Under: AAS Tagged With: Absorption Spectroscopy, Analytical Chemistry, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy,
Spectroscopy
 About Dr. Deepak Bhanot
Dr Deepak Bhanot is a seasoned professional having nearly 30 years expertise beginning
from sales and product support of analytical instruments. After completing his graduation
and post graduation from Delhi University and IIT Delhi he went on to Loughborough
University of Technology, UK for doctorate research in analytical chemistry. His mission is to develop
training programs on analytical techniques and share his experiences with broad spectrum of users
ranging from professionals engaged in analytical development and research as well as young
enthusiasts fresh from academics who wish to embark upon a career in analytical industry.

Comments

Roan Birgen says:

January 28, 2014 at 1:41 pm

great site to polish and get deeper into the analytical field.keep it up

Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

January 29, 2014 at 3:21 pm

Thanks Roan for your encouragement

Reply
 al-amin says:
May 9, 2014 at 9:42 pm

I want to know about physical interference & refractory compound

Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

May 10, 2014 at 10:01 am

Hello Al-Amin,
Interferences in AAS analysis are basically spectroscopic and non-spectroscopic.I am not
very clear on what you are refering to when you say physical interferences.Kindly elaborate
so that I may comment.
Refractory compounds,particularly oxides are those that do not decompose at normal air -
acetylene flame temperatures and require higher temperatures to decompose and form
free atoms.These temperatures are achieved by using nitrous oxide-acetylene flames.

Reply

Prithvi says:
December 30, 2014 at 8:52 am

In chemical interference , we add one substance in excess amount to reduce interference of

other. There is example of lanthanum with phosphates. Can lanthanum affect the result?
Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

December 30, 2014 at 9:25 am

Dear Prithvi,
Lanthanum as an element will not interfere as the hollow cathode lamp is specific to the
element to be determined.

Reply

Lin Weng says:

April 18, 2015 at 9:53 am

Hi Dr Deepak Bhanot, I would like to ask why the absorbance of Antimony in a nickel
concentrated matrix decreases when the analysis is repeated? Is this a normal sign?

Reply

Dr. Saurabh Arora says:

February 20, 2016 at 1:53 pm
 Hi, most probably your solution is not stable and there might be precipitation. You need to
establish the solution stability and add a stabilizer if needed.

Reply

Nandini says:
August 8, 2015 at 10:50 am

Is maximum sample uptake rate always be used in AAS?

Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

August 12, 2015 at 10:08 am

Hi Nandini,
It is not advisable to use maximum uptake rate always because the gain in sensitivity can be
off-set by several other factors such as extinguishing of flame due to excessive solvent
introduction or simultaneous increase in background interference and parallel increase in
interference due to interfering elements introduced along with the sample.It is for this
reason that variable intake provisions are provided on all instruments.

Reply
 steve kawandama says:
January 5, 2016 at 8:40 am

Which could be the easiest way to assign species to an infra red spectrum?

Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

January 5, 2016 at 11:00 am

The easiest way is to overlay the sample spectrum on the standard compound spectrum
and match the degree of closeness of ovelap of peaks. It may not be a 100% overlay but you
will come to know about your sample. Most systems come with a figure on correlation in
the software which gives you a degree of match of the two spectra

Reply

seid says:
May 5, 2016 at 1:52 pm

How can the interference of AA measurements by EA signals be removed?

Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

May 9, 2016 at 11:50 am

Please clarify what are EA signals

Reply

Martin kituyi says:

July 7, 2016 at 1:30 pm

Hi Dr, how can u prevent refractory compound in AAS?.

Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

July 18, 2016 at 11:32 am

Refractory elements form stable oxides which do not decompose under normal operation
using air- acetylene flames and will not be a matter of concern as you are looking for the
element whose hollow cathode lamp has been selected.Under higher temperature
operation you can remove interfering elements which have potential of contributing to
 interference by extraction and refining techniques specific to such elements prior to
analysis.

Reply

Angela says:
September 18, 2016 at 8:23 pm

What about interference effect of phosphate on calcium? And then with releasing agents
such at EDTA and strontium?

Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

September 21, 2016 at 11:13 am

You are referring to chemical interferences where an element or complexing agent

combines and forms a stable compound which reduces the absorption due to the element
of interest. Such interference can be reduced by adding another element or chemical which
forms preferentially a thermally stable compound with the interferent . An example is Ca in
presence of phosphate. Phosphate produces stable calcium phosphate which reduces the
absorption signal due to Ca.Addition of excess of Lanthanum forms thermally lanthanum
phosphate and the effect of phosphate interference on Ca gets eliminated.

Reply
 Shinji Sudoyo says:
March 14, 2017 at 8:46 am

Hi Dr. Deepak Bhanot, i just happened to have a problem with a flame AAS. During analysis of
any elements which have a maximum wavelength below 300nm, i get this random sudden
drop of absorbance. So out of nowhere 0.0005-0.0010 Abs could get to -0.0100 and then goes
back up to 0.0005. It happens quite often during analysis and it prolonged my analysis time
because i have to re-aspirate and re-read all the samples again. What could be the problems?
thank you

Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

March 14, 2017 at 10:01 am

My advise would be to check performance of your UV lamp source and see if it is nearing
end of its useful rated life.It is easy if it has a built in energy meter. In case it has outlived its
lifespan best would be to replace it. If problem persists get in touch with your service
engineer.

Reply

Barath Vasudevan says:

November 23, 2017 at 12:52 pm
Hi Dr. Deepak Bhanot, I would like to ask how to prevent the ash formation in AAS. Thank you

Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

November 23, 2017 at 3:39 pm

Ash formation is not a commonly encountered problem.However, as a preventive measure

keep your burner slots clean using the cleaning wire. please do let me know your specific
analysis where you faced such a problem.

Reply

Richa Shrivastava says:

December 6, 2017 at 12:20 pm

In an ILC conducted on herbal samples for lead in different labs my brand new AAS is giving
higher results than other labs. What could be the possible reason?

Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

December 8, 2017 at 10:50 am
 There could be more than one reason.Hope you calibrated the AAS with a standard from a
reliable source and also used calibrated volumetric glassware.Use of high purity reagents is
also recommended . lastly hope you made use of Electrodeless discharge lamp as light
source instead of a hollow cathode lamp.

Reply

irah says:
April 10, 2018 at 8:32 pm

Does lanthanum oxide help to reduce the interference? I don’t understand the ionization
effect of lanthanum oxide.

Reply

Dr. Deepak Bhanot says:

April 16, 2018 at 11:13 am

Lanthanum compounds are easily ionizable and therefore help suppress ionization of other
compounds with low ionization potentials.Thus there is no loss of the analyte compound
ions due to ionization and their atoms in ground state are available for absorption of
radiation from the source.

Reply
 PorterJuicy says:
July 24, 2018 at 4:07 pm

Hi. I see that you don’t update your site too often. I know
that writing posts is time consuming and boring.
But did you know that there is a tool that allows you to create new articles
using existing content (from article directories or other websites from your niche)?
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Reply

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