The use of the carbon filament as an atom reservoir for aqueous samples in atomic absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy has been described in earlier parts of this series. If the carbon filament could be used to atom& elements from organic solvents, solvent extraction could be applied in separation and preconcentration procedures for this type of analysis. Solvent extraction has, of course, been used with flame atomisation in both atomic absorption and atomic fluorescence spectroscopy but the range of suitable solvents (and hence reagents) is somewhat limited by considerations of viscosity, pyrolysis products, and contribution to background radiation. It was considered that these factors should be unimportant when the carbon filament was used for atomisation, for the excess of solvent is removed.by rapid preliminary evaporation'.
Accordingly, a more comprehensive range of solvents and reagents should be possible. The major difficulty envisaged was that the organometallic species might sublime from the filament in molecular form rather than undergo atomisation on the filament. In this investigation, the atomic fluorescence and atomic absorption of copper, silver, zinc, cadmium and lead has been examined with a number of reagents containing oxygen, nitrogen or sulphur as the donor atoms. Solvents used were methyl isobutyl ketone, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride or benzene.