INTERFERENCES OF MAJOR ELEMENTS IN THE DETERMINATION OF RARE-EARTH ELEMENTS BY INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA ATOMIC EMISSION-SPECTROSCOPY

A study concerning the nature of the interference of sodium, potassium, calcium and iron in the determination of rare earth elements by ICP has been carried out. The studied elements are the most common constituents of naturally occurring samples and severally interfere in the spectrochemical determination of the analytes. The physico-chemical and spectral interferences are not negligible and cause a strong depression or enhancement of the emission intensity of the rare earth elements (REE). Although the best analytical line for every rare earth element is also suggested, separating the analyte from the complex matrix is often necessary.