Determination of Li and Nb in Congruent Lithium Niobate by ICP-MS

This paper reports the study undertaken to obtain a quantification method of Li and Nb in lithium niobate (LN) through an analytical chemical method. With use of a specifically designed digestion protocol, the contents of both lithium and niobium in a congruent LN monocrystalline compound have been systematically quantified by means of ICP-MS. HF and HNO3 acid mixtures in proportions 8:2 and 6:4 turn out to be most favorable to obtain the total digestion of the compound. Under these experimental conditions, Li and Nb recovery factors between 95% and 108% together with coefficients of variation around 1% were obtained. The resulting data are enough to suggest a new model of vacancies for the congruent lithium niobate based on the combination of both lithium and oxygen vacancies