TONGZhi-qing,QIANGGuang-hui,LIJing,et al.Comparison of Methods for Detecting Mercury in Drinking Water Using ICP-MS and AFS[J].China Water & Wastewater,2025,41(10):132-136.
Comparison of Methods for Detecting Mercury in Drinking Water Using ICP-MS and AFS
China Water & Wastewater[ISSN:1000-4062/CN:12-1073/TU]
volume:
第41卷
Number:
第10期
Page:
132-136
Column:
Date of publication:
2025-05-17
- Keywords:
- mercury; drinking water; atomic fluorescence spectrometry（AFS）; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)
- Abstract:
- Mercury contamination in drinking water poses a significant threat to human health, necessitating the urgent development of accurate and reliable detection methods. For mercury determination, atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) involves complex pretreatment procedures and is susceptible to contamination, while inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) exhibits limitations such as memory effects and instability. In this study, the issues of mercury adsorption and volatilization were effectively addressed by optimizing experimental conditions and introducing gold solution as a stabilizing agent. The performance of the two methods for detecting mercury in drinking water was systematically assessed and compared. Both ICP-MS and AFS demonstrated excellent linear correlations (r≥0.999 5). The detection limits for mercury using these two methods were 0.02 μg/L and 0.05 μg/L, respectively. The recovery ranged from 90% to 100%, with relative standard deviations (RSD) between 1.25% and 4.55%. The measured values of the standard quality control samples were all within the limits specified in the standard. After comprehensive consideration, if the determination is solely focused on mercury, AFS is recommended due to its ease of instrument operation and relatively low cost. On the other hand, ICP-MS is more appropriate for complex samples requiring the simultaneous detection of multiple heavy metal elements, as it possesses the capability to analyze multiple elements concurrently.
Last Update:
2025-05-17