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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2003  > January  >
In the Laboratory
Measurement of Trace Metals in Tobacco and Cigarette Ash by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
W. Wang and B. J. Finlayson-Pitts
Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
Cover
January 2003
Vol. 80 No. 1
p. 83
Abstract
The ICP–AES experiment reported here is suitable for use in a junior- or senior-level undergraduate instrumental analysis laboratory. The objective of this experiment is to analyze trace metals present in cigarette tobacco, the cigarette filter, and the ash obtained when the cigarette is burned. Two different brands of cigarettes, one with and one without a filter, were used. The filter was analyzed before and after smoke was drawn through it. The trace metals were extracted using concentrated nitric acid at room temperature and at 100 °C respectively, to test the extraction efficiency. Some tobacco samples were spiked with ZnCl2 and FeCl3 to assess the efficiency of the recovery. Zinc and iron are shown to be present in tobacco, filter, and ash, while chromium was above the detection limit only in the ash. These metals are concentrated in the ash compared to the tobacco by factors of ∼4 (Zn), 12–17 (Fe), and ≥ 2 (Cr). If sufficient laboratory time is available, this experiment could be paired with one using atomic absorption (AA) to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of ICP when compared to AA.
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Notes for the instructor and instructions for students are available.
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*  Citation
 Wang, W; Finlayson-Pitts, B. J. J. Chem. Educ. 2003 80 83.
*  Keywords
 Analytical Chemistry; Chromium; Instrumental Methods; Iron; Quantitative Analysis; UV-Vis Spectroscopy; Zinc; Laboratory Instruction
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 December 5, 2002
February 28, 2005
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