Flame AAS determination of platinum, palladium, and rhodium in catalysts

Abstract

A flame atomic absorption spectrometric method is described for the determination of platinum, palladium, and rhodium in used and fresh alumina-supported and sieve catalysts. A lanthanum solution was used to eliminate chemical matrix interferences. Samples were completely dissolved in sulfuric acid and aqua regia. Overall, the method has resulted in % RSD values ranging from 1.1-5.7, 2.2-5.9, and 4.8-5.3 for Pt, Pd, and Rh, respectively; the 3 sigma detection limits were 5 mu g/L Pt, 3 mu g/L Pd, and 40 mu g/L Rh.