Uncertainty of Determination of Copper in Water by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Objective To evaluate the uncertainty of determination of copper in water by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) according to Evaluation and Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement.Methods Precision of the instrument,uncertainty of the certified values of standard reference materials used in the measurement and uncertainty arising from the preparation of various chemical solutions involved in the measurements were considered as the main sources of the combined uncertainty.Components of uncertainty and the combined uncertainty were deduced and calculated.We can obtain the evaluation of uncertainty of copper in water by FAAS.Results The concentration of copper in water was 0.55 mg/L calculated according to mathematical model established in the present study,combined standard uncertainty was 0.011 mg/L,expanded uncertainty was 0.02 mg/L,and the expression of the uncertainty was (0.55±0.02)mg/L.Conclusion This method can be used for evaluation of uncertainty of determination of copper in water by FAAS.