DIFFERENCES BETWEEN UV-VISIBLE SPECTROPHOTOMETER,

ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROPHOTOMETER AND ATOMIC

EMISSION ABSORPTION

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Atomic absorption spectroscopy is an analytical technique that is useful to

determine the chemical elements in a sample quantitatively. The process inside this
spectroscopy depends on the absorption of light by free metallic ions.

When considering the electrons in atoms, they are in certain energy levels of an
atom. We call these energy levels atomic orbitals. These energy levels are
quantized rather than being continuous. The electrons in the atomic orbitals can
move from one energy level to another by either absorbing or releasing the energy
they have. However, the energy the electron absorbs or emits should be equal to
the energy difference between the two energy levels (between which the electron is
going to move). The above technique is done using the ATOMIC ABSORPTION
SPECTROPHOTOMETER
 UV Visible Spectroscopy

UV visible spectroscopy is an analytical technique that uses the absorption or

reflectance of a part of the UV range and complete adjacent visible regions of the
electromagnetic spectrum. This technique comes in two types as absorption
spectroscopy and reflectance spectroscopy. It uses light in the visible and adjacent
ranges.

Generally, the absorption or reflectance of the visible range of light can directly
affect the perceived colour of the chemicals that are involved in the process. At this
range of the spectrum, we can observe the atoms and molecules can undergo
electronic transitions. Here, absorption spectroscopy is complementary to
fluorescence spectroscopy, where fluorescence deals with transitions of electrons
from the excited state to the ground state. In addition, absorption measures the
transitions from the ground state to the excited state.
This spectroscopic technique is useful in analyzing different samples
quantitatively, such as transition metals ions, highly conjugated organic
compounds, and macromolecules in biological systems. Generally, spectroscopic
analysis is carried out using solutions, but we can also use solids and gases.

The above technique is done using the UV/VISIBLE SPECTROPHOTOMETER

A UV-Vis spectrophotometer measures the intensity of light transmitted through a

sample compared to a reference measurement of the incident light source.
According to Beer-Lambert Law, the amount of light absorbed is directly
proportional to the concentration of the sample and the distance the light travels
through the sample; the pathlength.

UV-Vis spectrophotometers are therefore able to determine the concentration of

specific analytes in a microvolume by controlling the analysis wavelengths and the
pathlength.
Atomic Emmission Spectrophotometer

Atomic emission spectrophotometer (AES or OES) uses quantitative measurement

of the optical emission from excited atoms to determine analyte concentration.
Analyte atoms in solution are aspirated into the excitation region where they are
desolvated, vaporized, and atomized by a flame, discharge, or plasma. These high-
temperature atomization sources provide sufficient energy to promote the atoms
into high energy levels. The atoms decay back to lower levels by emitting light.
Since the transitions are between distinct atomic energy levels, the emission lines
in the spectra are narrow. The spectra of multi-elemental samples can be very
congested, and spectral separation of nearby atomic transitions requires a high-
resolution spectrometer. Since all atoms in a sample are excited simultaneously,
they can be detected simultaneously, and is the major advantage of AES compared
to atomic-absorption (AA) spectroscopy.

ICP Atomic Emission Spectrometer

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UV-VISIBLE, ATOMIC EMISSION AND
ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROPHOTOMETER

The key difference between atomic absorption spectrophotometer and UV

visible spectrophotometer is that atomic absorption spectrophotometer is based
on the absorption of light by atoms or ions, whereas UV visible spectrophotometer
involves the absorption or reflectance of a part of the UV range and complete
adjacent visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum by atoms or ions. While
on the other hand, Atomic emission spectrophotometer (AES or OES) uses
quantitative measurement of the optical emission from excited atoms to determine
analyte concentration.