• Location: Laboratory B36 in the Chemical Sciences Building (F10)
• Rabeya Akter (02 9385 4680, Office B39 - access via Lab B36)
• Dorothy Yu (02 9385 5643, Office B39 - access via Lab B36)

ICP Laboratory Capabilities

Our ICP Laboratory houses state of the art ICP instruments for trace elemental analysis, but also holds a range of other instruments for high-throughput, high sensitivity analysis of cations, anions and waterborne organic species.

An Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) is generated by heating a flow of argon gas through a torch fitted with a radio frequency induction coil. Usually a dissolved sample is nebulised and fed into the plasma (at up to 10,000 degrees Kelvin) where the elements in the sample ionise and emit characteristic radiation. The variety and quantity of elements present in the sample can be measured (often simultaneously) by detecting the characteristic emission of the element (ICP-AES), or passing the ions through a mass spectrometer (ICP-MS).

Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectroscopy ICP-AES (also known as ICP-OES, "Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectroscopy") is one of the most commonly used techniques for the determination of trace concentrations of elements in samples. The detection limits are generally in the ppb range. The upper limit for a particular emission line is usually 104 to 106 times the detection limits. The precision of analysis is usually in the 1-2% RSD range. Better precision can be obtained with trade-offs in speed. It is capable of multi-element, qualitative and quantitative analyses. The versatility of ICP-AES makes it a good analytical technique for a wide variety of applications, e.g.:

• Agricultural samples and foods
• Biological and Clinical
• Geological
• Environmental
• Metals
• Organics

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) provides information for each atomic mass unit (amu) in the mass region of 5-270 amu. The isotope information can be used for isotope ratio measurements and analysis of samples having unnatural isotope abundances. The detection limits of this technique are impressive; < 1ppt for most elements in simple solution. It is mainly used for trace/ultra trace analyses.

The laboratory also operates a Flow Injection Analyser with an autosampler. This instrument enables high throughput spectrophotometric analysis, and currently has manifolds enabling analysis of ammonia and nitrates. In addition to the FIA, we operate a Dionex ion chromatography system with autosampler which enables rapid separation and sensitive analysis of a range of common inorganic anions.

Our sample preparation laboratories include facilities for difficult samples (HF plus microwave digestion) and ICP instruments for rapid detection of trace elements.

The instruments in the ICP lab are described here.

Are you a UNSW researcher who would like to use the ICP lab? View our sample submission form. If there are large numbers of samples to analyse, it may be possible for you to undergo training to use one of the instruments. Training should be discussed with Rabeya Akter or Dorothy Yu. If instrument training is a practical option then you should complete our registration form and bring it with you to the laboratory on the training date.

External Partners with our ICP Laboratory

Our ICP laboratory has an industry partner that helps expose UNSW staff and students to state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation and offers specialised training courses within the Analytical Centre.

Other Elemental Analysis Facilities within UNSW

The Centre for Water & Waste Technology who also operate ICP instrumentation, along with a variety of other techniques for performing water analysis.