Maintenance, Spare Parts and Troubleshooting
50 Agilent Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometers User’s Guide
Cleaning the Spray Chamber
The ‘wetting’ of a spray chamber is its ability to produce a uniform
coating of aerosol on the internal surfaces of the spray chamber. This
uniform coating is essential for the efficient transport of aerosol from
the spray chamber to the plasma torch.
The “wetting” of a spray chamber can be judged by observing the
internal surfaces of the spray chamber while an acidified aqueous
solution (typically 1-5%) is nebulized. A correctly ‘wetting’ spray
chamber shows a uniform internal surface without large droplet
formation (Figure 6).
A poor ‘wetting’ spray chamber is usually indicated by the
appearance of large droplets on the internal surfaces of the spray
chamber (Figure 7) and can be caused by the analysis of water
miscible organic samples, contamination of the spray chamber, or
improper handling or storage.
Figure 6. Correctly ‘wetting’ spray
chamber with a uniform coverage
Figure 7. Incorrectly ‘wetting’ spray
chamber showing droplets
A poor ‘wetting’ spray chamber can be fixed with thorough cleaning.
For detailed spray chamber cleaning instructions, see the MP Expert
Help. Click ‘Maintenance’ and then select ‘Cleaning the spray
chamber’.
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