Solid phase extraction flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of ultratrace beryllium

A simple, highly sensitive, accurate and selective method for the determination of ultra-trace quantities of beryllium ion is proposed. The method is based on the preconcentration of Be2+ on an OH-form strong base anion exchange resin. The retained beryllium was eluted with 1.5 M HCl and measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) at 234.9 nm. Be2+ in the range 0.05¯15 mug could be determined. The R.S.D. for 10 replicate measurements of 20 ng ml-1 beryllium was 1.2% and the 3sigma limit of detection of the method was 0.045 ng ml-1. The proposed method was applied to the determination of beryllium in several water samples.