The spectrometer cannot detect carbon
Most spectrometer problems stem from three things: incorrect calibration, poor sample prep, or hardware wear. If your UV reading is drifting or results are inconsistent across runs, it's time to recalibrate using certified standards. Why can't carbon and nitrogen be detected in ICP-MS and ICP-OES techniques? My book says this technique is efficient for detecting multiple elements, with exception of halogens and carbon. Due to the high background counts in SEM-EDS, an artificial carbon (C) peak is always visible and thus a value of more than 2% carbon is normally measured even though there is no carbon in the specimen. When a sample is exposed to high-energy X-rays, the atoms in the sample scatter energy in the form of secondary (or fluorescent) X-rays. Beryllium (Z = 4) to Ne (Z = 10) X-rays can be detected by EDS, but there are two problems. Primarily, standard XRF analyzers cannot detect very light elements, are unable to identify the specific chemical compounds an element has formed, and can only analyze the surface of a sample.
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