Flame spectroscopic studies of bismuth, lanthanum, lead and silver with particular reference to their determination in steels.

This thesis discusses the atomic spectroscopy of bismuth, lanthanum, lead and silver and describes the determination of trace amounts of the four metals in steel after the preliminary solvent extraction of the metals. A study of the interference effects of the matrix elements upon both the extraction and determination of each metal is included. The thesis also describes an investigation into lock-in amplification systems in both atomic absorption and fluorescence spectrometry and discusses their effect upon the detection limits for bismuth, lead and silver, as well as the advantages of spectrometers incorporating lock-in amplifiers in the analysis of steel.