Glow discharge optical emission of plutonium and plutonium waste
- Clemson Univ., SC (United States)
- Westinghouse Savannah River Company Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC (United States)
The application of glow discharges to the analysis of nonconducting materials such as glasses and ceramics is of great interest due to the number of advantages afforded by their direct solids capabilities. These types of samples, by their chemical nature, pose difficulties in dissolution for their subsequent analysis by common spectroscopic instrumental methods such as inductively coupled plasma atomic emission (ICP-AES). The ability of the glow discharge to sputter-atomize and excite solid nonconducting materials greatly reduces sample preparation time, cost, and complexity of an analysis. In comparison with x-ray spectroscopies, GD also provides the advantage of a relatively uniform sample atomization rate, resulting in a lowering of matrix effects. In a traditional direct current glow discharge (dc-GD), the material to be analyzed must first be ground and thoroughly mixed with a conductive host matrix and pressed into a solid pellet. Additionally, atmospheric gases which are often trapped in the sample upon pressing can degrade the quality of the plasma and obscure analytical results by reducing sputtering rates and affecting excitation conditions. Internal standardization has been carried out in both atomic absorption and emission dc-GD analyses in order to improve precision and accuracy which are affected by these problems.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-89SR18035
- OSTI ID:
- 239299
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-RP-96-16; ON: DE96010995; TRN: 96:012907
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 9 Nov 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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