Determination of Osmium by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry

Abstract

An atomic absorption method for the determination of osmium has been developed. The method is applicable in the concentration range of 1 to 300 ppm of osmium with a relative error of ±4%. It is applicable to both aqueous and nonaqueous osmium solutions and, with slight modification, can be applied to the determination of osmium in its thiourea complex. The results are not affected by the valence state of osmium. A sensitivity of 1 ppm is readily achieved by the atomic absorption method and this is comparable to that obtained by spectrophotometry and x-ray fluorescence. The method is rapid and requires less than 5 min of operator time per sample.