Element Speciation

Element Speciation – The determination of the form of a chemical present in solution. Elements may exist in different forms, relative to the environment they are in. Many customers need to analyze a particular form of a chemical as one form may be more toxic than another in nature.

• ICP instruments will not differentiate between forms of analytes, they will see ‘total content/concentration’ – so, we may have 50 ppb of one form and 50 ppb of another, but the instrument will only see 100 ppb of the element of interest.
• IV offers very limited options for speciated standards. Our most popular are our As⁺³ and As⁺⁵ standards – we utilize specific starting material and matrix acids to achieve and maintain one form (oxidation state for these products) or another (as As⁺³ can convert to As⁺⁵ in solution, if stored in nitric acid).