NCJ Number
141734
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 38 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1993) Pages: 302-315
Date Published
1993
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Experiments were conducted to determine the capability of inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP- AES) to discriminate among the various elemental components of household aluminum foil.
Abstract
ICP-AES determined the concentrations of copper, gallium, iron, magnesium, manganese, titanium, vanadium, and zinc with analytical precision in the range of 1 to 2 percent; concentrations of nickel and silicon were determined with precision in the range of 5 percent. For all 10 elements, the combined analytical uncertainties and variations along the length of a single roll of foil were much smaller than the variations from roll to roll, both within the same brand and across brands. The results of aluminum foil included in this study showed measurable roll-to-roll compositional variation among the various brands as well as across rolls produced by the same manufacturer in different batches. The findings showed that ICP-AES provides the precision, sensitivity, and specificity for element concentration discrimination. 5 tables and 10 references