Common Problems with Hg, Au, Si, Os and Na

Gold (Au)

The chemical stability of Au is very similar to that of Hg. The following suggestions may be helpful:

• Nitric acid solutions of Au at the low ppm and ppb levels are not stable. Use HCl matrices.
• Do no use Pt crucibles when ashing samples containing Au. Au will alloy with the Pt.
• When measuring Au in the presence of significantly greater amounts of Pt using ICP-MS, be aware of the resolving capability of your instrument.

• Au elemental data

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