Direct analysis of trace metallic impurities in high purity hydrochloric acid by Agilent 7700s ICP-MS

This application note illustrates the advanced analytical performance and robustness of the Agilent 7700s ICP-MS for the direct determination of metallic impurities in high purity concentrated hydrochloric acid (HCl). The 7700s incorporates a third generation Octopole Reaction System, the ORS3, which effectively removes polyatomic interferences, allowing ultimate detection limits to be achieved for elements that suffer from severe chloridebased interferences. For example, the polyatomic ion 40Ar35Cl+ can be eliminated by the ORS3 allowing the direct measurement of As at mass 75, and permitting accurate analysis of As at trace levels in undiluted concentrated HCl. Enabling direct analysis of concentrated acids eliminates the dilution step from the sample preparation procedure, and so significantly reduces the potential for sample contamination.