Determination of Boron in Silicon Carbide by ICP-OES and ICP-MS after Sample Preparation using Pyrohydrolysis

Pyrohydrolysis was used for sample preparation of silicon carbide (SiC) and subsequent determination of B using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Important parameters for pyrohydrolysis method as temperature, air and water flow rates, reaction time and use of V₂O₅ were evaluated. In addition, a study of W spectral interference on B emission lines was evaluated for ICP-OES determination. Accuracy was evaluated using certified reference material (CRM BAM S003) and bias value lower than 1% between the certified and determined value was achieved. Limit of detection (LOD) of 0.010 μg g⁻¹ was obtained using pyrohydrolysis and ICP-MS. Pyrohydrolysis is a very simple sample preparation method that allowed the use of deionized water as absorbing solution for B determination in SiC.

silicon carbide; pyrohydrolysis; boron; ICP-MS; ICP-OES