Determination of boron and lithium in ferroelectric samples by ICP-OES and ICP-MS

This work presents a quantitative method for determining boron and lithium content by ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma–Optical Emission Spectrometry) and ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry) techniques using doped BST (BaSrTiO3) as an example material. The analyses were done to pure and doped BST samples before and after sintering. The ICP-OES analyses of the samples before sintering showed the same amounts of Ba, Sr, Ti and Li as were added to the samples, within accurate tolerances. In the case of boron, however, a somewhat lower amount was observed than was added. After sintering in disk and powder states, the volatilization of Li and B were evaluated. The results obtained by ICP-OES and ICP-MS were in close agreement with each other. The small amounts of B and Li could not be determined with X-ray fluorescence. The presented methods thus form novel quantitative ways to evaluate the amount of elements in sintered electroceramic compositions including light elements like B and Li, even with low doping levels added to the powders.