View source for Photoelectric flame photometer

{{Short description|Laboratory device}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2023}}

[[File:Auto Flapho FP8800.jpg|thumb|Flame photometer FP8800 for simultaneous determination of up to 4 [[alkali]] and [[alkali earth element]] concentrations in [[aqueous]] samples. Courtesy of A.KRÜSS Optronic]]

'''Flame photometry''' is a type of [[atomic emission spectroscopy]]. It is also known as '''flame emission spectroscopy'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flame Photometer: Principle, Working Procedure and Applications {{!}} Study&Score |url=https://www.studyandscore.com/studymaterial-detail/flame-photometer-principle-components-working-procedure-applications-advantages-and-disadvantages |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=www.studyandscore.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Flame Photometry (Theory) : Inorganic Chemistry Virtual Lab : Chemical Sciences : Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Virtual Lab |url=https://vlab.amrita.edu/?sub=2&brch=193&sim=1351&cnt=1 |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=vlab.amrita.edu}}</ref> [[Group 1 elements|A]] '''photoelectric flame photometer''' is an instrument used in [[Inorganic chemistry|inorganic chemical]] [[Analytical chemistry|analysis]] to determine the concentration of certain metal ions, among them [[sodium]], [[potassium]], [[lithium]], and [[calcium]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Domingo |first=W. R. |last2=Klyne |first2=W. |date=1949 |title=A photoelectric flame photometer |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15394430/ |journal=The Biochemical Journal |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=400–408 |issn=0264-6021 |pmc=1275017 |pmid=15394430}}</ref> [[Group (periodic table)|Group]] 1 (alkali metals) and [[Group (periodic table)|Group]] 2 (alkaline earth metals) are quite sensitive to flame ''photometry'' due to their low excitation energies.
[[File:Flame photometer analysis.JPG|thumb|Analysis of samples by flame photometer]]
In principle, it is a controlled [[flame test]] with the intensity of the flame color quantified by photoelectric circuitry. The intensity of the color will depend on the energy that had been absorbed by the atoms that was sufficient to vaporise them. The sample is introduced to the flame at a constant rate. Filters select which colours the photometer detects and exclude the influence of other ions. Before use, the device requires calibration with a series of standard solutions of the ion to be tested.

Flame photometry is crude but inexpensive compared to [[Emission spectroscopy|flame emission spectroscopy]] or [[Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy|ICP-AES]], where the emitted light is analyzed with a monochromator. Its status is similar to that of the [[Colorimeter (chemistry)|colorimeter]] (which uses filters) compared to the [[Spectrophotometry|spectrophotometer]] (which uses a monochromator). It also has the range of metals that could be analysed and the limit of detection are also considered

==References==
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[[Category:Inorganic chemistry]]