Simultaneous determination of trace rare earth elements and other elements in high purity terbium oxide (Tb4O7) by ICP-AES after HPLC separation using P507 resin

This article describes a new method for the simultaneous determination of trace rare earth elements (REEs) and non rare earth elements (NREEs) in high purity terbium oxide by ICP-AES after HPLC separation using P507 resin. The chromatographic separation of the analytes from the matrix using dilute nitric acid as mobile phase was studied. The experimental results showed that a favorable separation of trace metals (Cu and Gd) from the matrix (Tb) can easily be achieved by elution with dilute nitric acid within 25 min. The proposed method was applied to the determination of trace metals (Ca, Cu, Mg, Mn, Ni, Si, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd) in high purity terbium oxide. The detection limits (DLs) for the analytes ranged from 0.4–4.0 μg· g⁻¹, and the recoveries are from 78%–105%. Foundation item: Supported by the National Science Foundation of China (No. 20007010108) and Wuhan Municipal Science & Technology Commission (No. 995004080) Biography, Wanjau Ruth (1961-), female, Ph. D. candidate, Kenyatta University, Kenya, research direction: determination of trace elements.