Determination of impurities in barium titanate by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

A sensitive method is described for the determination of impurities in barium titanate by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) after acid decomposition under pressure. A 0.5-g amount of the powder sample was decomposed with 15 ml of hydrochloric acid in a low-contamination PTFE vessel. The solution contained 0.29%m/V Ba, 0.10%m/V Ti and 6.4%m/V HCl as matrix components, and the matrix effects in ICP-AES were examined. Ba or Ti raised the background levels and reduced the emission intensities of all the elements determined, and the effects were larger when both matrix components were present. Solutions containing the Ba and Ti matrices matched to the sample solution are recommended for constructing the calibration graphs. Twelve elements were determined in commercial barium titanate powders with high sensitivity and good precision.