Determination of impurities in high pure copper by electrolytic separation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of 17 trace impurities(Be,Mg,Al,P,Ti,Cr,Mn,Co,Ni,As,Se,Zr,Cd,Sn,Sb,Te and Pb)in high purity copper with a combination of electrochemical deposition separation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was investigated.More than 99% of Cu matrix can be precipitated in cathode by controlled electric current and recoveries for trace impurity elements were above 90%.The effects of acidity,remnant copper and matrix of the electrolyte were investigated.The results indicated that appropriate internal standards can correct the signal drift and matrix effect.The interferences from polyatomic ions can be neglected in He octopole reaction system.The limits of detection(based on the 3σ criterion) of these elements(except P and Al) were in the range of 10-3～10-2 mg/kg.The method has been applied to determination of high purity copper reference material,and the results were in good agreement with the certified values.The recoveries of these elements were in the range of 85%～110%,and the RSDs were in the scope of 1.8%～8.5%.