Spectrographic determination of impurities in ceramic materials for nuclear fusion reactors. 1. Analysis of alumina

The determination of minor and trace elements in the aluminium oxide considered as possible ceramic material in thermonuclear fusion reactors has been studied. The concentration ranges are 0.1-0.3 % for Ca, Si and Y, and at the ppm level for Co, Cr, Fe, Hf, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Sc, Ta, Ti, V and Zr. Atomic emission spectroscopy with direct current arc excitation and photographic detection has been employed. For Hf, Mg, Ta, Ti, V and Zr the use of 40% of copper fluoride as a carrier and of Nb as internal standard provide suitable sensitivities and precissions, while for the rest of elements the best results are obtained with graphite powder in different proportions and Rb or Sn as internal standard. (Author). 7 refs