Speciation of mercury by hydride generation ultraviolet atomization-atomic fluorescence spectrometry without chromatographic separation

Abstract A novel ultraviolet (UV) atomization atomic fluorescence spectrometry (UV-AFS) without chromatographic separation was developed for quantitative speciation analysis of mercury (inorganic mercury (Hg 2+ ) and methylmercury (MeHg + )) in food samples. In the proposed method, with 0.1% (m/v) KBH 4 used as a reductant, inorganic mercury was measured by using the non-ultraviolet radiation mode. However, under the ultraviolet atomization, the volatile MeHg + hydride (MeHgH) generated by KBH 4 can be transformed to elemental mercury vapor, and total Hg (MeHg and Hg 2+ ) was detected in this UV atomization mode. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the limits of detection (LODs) were found to be 0.015 and 0.081 mg L −1, for Hg 2+ and MeHg + . And the relative standard deviations (RSDs) ( n  = 11) were 2.4% and 0.4%, respectively. Spiked environmental water samples including seafood, fruits and vegetables were determined and satisfactory recoveries were obtained for MeHg + and Hg 2+ detection.