TY - JOUR

T1 - History and recent advances in elemental analysis of germanium-based functional materials

AU - Guselnikova, Tatiana Ya

N1 - The research was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation , N 121031700315-2 . Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier B.V.

PY - 2023/1/1

Y1 - 2023/1/1

N2 - This article is devoted to a review of studies on the determination of trace elements in germanium and germanium dioxide. For this purpose, methods both with and without preliminary matrix separation procedure have been developed and applied. The advantage of methods without a matrix separation procedure is simple and fast sample preparation, since it does not require specific devices or installations. On the other hand, the limits of detection (LODs) of trace elements remain relatively high, and the germanium matrix effect occurs when attempts are made to lower them. Since germanium and germanium dioxide are currently among the purest substances, the purest germanium containing trace elements at the level of pg g−1 are used for producing nuclear radiation detectors. Therefore, to achieve low LODs for trace elements, a matrix separation procedure is conducted. Another positive point is that preliminary germanium separation leads to a decrease in the matrix effect. In the article the matrix separation procedure performed by various methods is considered. These procedures can be classified into open, closed or flow kinds, depending on the type of installation. Germanium is usually separated in the form of tetrahalide, most commonly, tetrachloride. For the determination of trace elements in germanium and germanium dioxide, single element methods (atomic absorption spectrometry) and multielement methods (atomic emission spectrometry, mass-spectrometry, neutron activation analysis) are used. In this article, these methods are compared in terms of the number of elements determined and the LODs.

AB - This article is devoted to a review of studies on the determination of trace elements in germanium and germanium dioxide. For this purpose, methods both with and without preliminary matrix separation procedure have been developed and applied. The advantage of methods without a matrix separation procedure is simple and fast sample preparation, since it does not require specific devices or installations. On the other hand, the limits of detection (LODs) of trace elements remain relatively high, and the germanium matrix effect occurs when attempts are made to lower them. Since germanium and germanium dioxide are currently among the purest substances, the purest germanium containing trace elements at the level of pg g−1 are used for producing nuclear radiation detectors. Therefore, to achieve low LODs for trace elements, a matrix separation procedure is conducted. Another positive point is that preliminary germanium separation leads to a decrease in the matrix effect. In the article the matrix separation procedure performed by various methods is considered. These procedures can be classified into open, closed or flow kinds, depending on the type of installation. Germanium is usually separated in the form of tetrahalide, most commonly, tetrachloride. For the determination of trace elements in germanium and germanium dioxide, single element methods (atomic absorption spectrometry) and multielement methods (atomic emission spectrometry, mass-spectrometry, neutron activation analysis) are used. In this article, these methods are compared in terms of the number of elements determined and the LODs.

KW - Elemental analysis

KW - High purity germanium

KW - Limit of detection

KW - Matrix separation procedure

KW - Limit of Detection

KW - Trace Elements/analysis

KW - Germanium

KW - Spectrophotometry, Atomic/methods

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85135876363&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/ff73dfd7-3261-3567-b54a-e46675a59c4a/

U2 - 10.1016/j.talanta.2022.123792

DO - 10.1016/j.talanta.2022.123792

M3 - Article

C2 - 35964517

AN - SCOPUS:85135876363

VL - 251

JO - Talanta

JF - Talanta

SN - 0039-9140

M1 - 123792

ER -