Determination of Ytterbium by Pyrocoated Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry : Application to Seawater

Atomic absorption spectrometry using a pyrocoated graphite furnace atomizer was applied for the determination of the trace amounts of ytterbium in sea water. The ytterbium ion was concentrated by coprecipitating with ferric hydroxide and its precipitation was dissolved in 2 ml of 8 mol/dm^3 hydrochloric acid solution. Twenty microliters of this solution were directly injected into the graphite furnace atomizer. By this analysis, the content of ytterbium in sea water was found to be (0.68〜1.1)×10^<-9>g/l.