Interference effects in the determination of barium in silicates by flame atomic-absorption spectrophotometry

A study has been made of single- and multi-element interactions of the elements present in a silicate matrix with barium during its determination by means of atomic-absorption spectrophotometry. A general review of the problem is made and an experimental study is reported. It is necessary to separate off the silicate matrix in the determination of trace amounts of barium. Such a separation is obtained by use of an ion-exchange technique and has been described in previous papers. It is concluded that in all geochemical work detailed information on the technique employed in obtaining the analytical results is needed.