Accurate elemental analysis of metal-containing polymer latexes using ICP-optical emission spectrometry

Accurate elemental analysis of metal-containing polymer latexes using ICP-optical emission spectrometry

Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics 2010, 211, 1355-1368
Nicolas Vogel, Christoph P. Hauser, Kilian Schuller, Katharina Landfester, Clemens K. Weiss

Abstract: The use of ICP-OES to determine the metal content of metal-complex-containing colloidal dispersions is explored. Colloidal dispersions containing a defined amount of metal complex were produced by miniemulsion polymerization. It was found that simple ICP-OES measurements yielded apparent metal concentrations significantly below the expected value. To examine the behavior of the colloidal dispersions in the ICP spectrometer, a systematic study on measurement conditions was performed. It was found that the addition of a surfactant to both colloidal dispersions and standards led to measured metal contents close to the theoretical value. Most reliable results were obtained using SDS in concentrations above the cmc.