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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Determination of Boron in Fertilizers by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry: Studies of Some Spectral Interferences at Different Wavelengths

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Abstract The most sensitive analytical wavelengths of boron cannot be used in the determination of boron in fertilizers by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry because of spectral interference by potassium, phosphorus, and iron. For the 4 wavelengths of boron investigated, it was noticed that, at the same wavelength, the pattern of spectral interference changes according to fertilizer composition. The spectral interference patterns at the 4 analytical boron wavelengths were studied by adding matrix elements typically found in fertilizers to real fertilizer samples. When levels of added matrix elements correlate less than 0.2 to each other, the effect of added matrix elements on boron determination can be calculated by multiple linear regression. The best analytical wavelength for determination of boron in fertilizer is 208.959 nm. If wavelength is selected only according to calibration data, without doing interference studies, the best wavelength should be 249.773 nm. Multiple linear regression in conjunction with experimental design may be used to determine the best analytical wavelength for a sample matrix under analysis, examine the interference elements, and verify the concentration detected.