The separation of W(V) from HCl-KSCN medium on polyurethane foam sorbents for its spectrophotometric determination in steels and silicates

A simple procedure for selective sorption of tungsten is described. The method involves reduction of W(VI) to W(V) with tin(II) chloride (2%, w/v) at 8-9M hydrochloric acid, formation of the W(V)-SCN complex with 0.2M KSCN and its sorption on polyurethane foam within 20 min. The sorbed complex is then eluted with acidified acetone (1 ml of 1M hydrochloric acid and 8 ml of acetone) followed by addition of 1 ml of 0.1M KSCN to the eluent. The method has been applied to the spectrophotometric determination of tungsten in steels and silicates by measuring the absorbance of the eluted solution at 400 nm. Beer's law is obeyed for the range 0.1-12 mug W/ml. Other elements, e.g., Co(III) (50 mug/ml), Cu(II) (10 mug/ml), Ti(IV) (20 mug/ml), V(V) (10 mug/ml) and Mo(VI) (0.5 mug/ml) have no effect on the method. Interference of copper, up to 100 mug/ml has been eliminated by masking with thiourea and that due to molybdenum by prior separation with thioglycollic acid on PUF. The method has been verified with standard samples.     

Spectrophotometric determination of platinum in glass after extraction with polyurethane foam

A spectrophotometric method has been developed for determination of trace amounts of platinum in glass. The method is based on the extraction of platinum(II) from 1M hydrochloric acid containing 0.2M stannous chloride and 4 x 10(-4)M dithizone onto polyurethane foam, elution with acetone (containing 3% v/v concentrated hydrochloric acid) and measurement of the absorbance of the eluate at 530 nm. Beer's law is obeyed up to 10.0 microg/ml Pt. The minimum platinum level in the eluate that can be determined by this method is 0.1 microg/ml.     

A new selective chromogenic reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of thallium(I) and (III) and its separation using flotation and the solid-phase extraction on polyurethane foam.

A new sensitive chromogenic reagent, 9,10-phenanthaquinone monoethylthiosemicarbazone (PET), has been synthesized and used in the spectrophotometric determination of Tl(III). In HNO3, H2SO4 or H3PO4 acids, PET can react immediately at room temperature with Tl(III) to form a red 2:1 complex with a maximum absorption at 516 nm. The different analytical parameters affecting the extraction and determination processes have been examined. The calibration curve was found to be linear over the range 0.2-10 microg cm(-3) with a molar absorptivity of 2.2 x 10(4) dm3 mol(-1) cm(-1). Sandell's sensitivity was found to be 0.0093 microg cm(-2). No interference from macroamounts of foreign ions was detected, except for Pd(II). However, Pd(II) does not affect the determination process, because its complex with PET has its lambda(max) at 625 nm. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of Tl(I and III) in synthetic and natural samples after separation by flotation (in oleic acid/kerosene) and solid-phase extraction (on polyurethane foam) techniques. The two methods were found to be accurate and not subject to random error, but solid-phase extraction was preferred because it is cheap, simpler and there is no contamination risk coming from flotation reagents.     

Separation and determination of some trivalent metal ions using rhodamine B grafted polyurethane foam

The incorporation of rhodamine B into polyurethane foam matrix was prepared by mixing the rhodamine B with polyol (polyether) prior to the addition of diisocyanate reagent to form the polyurethane foam material. Rhodamine B grafted polyurethane foam (Rod.B-PUF) was found to be very suitable for the separation and preconcentration of trivalent metal ions e.g. bismuth (III), antimony (III) and iron (III) from thiocyanate solutions. Bismuth and antimony were separated from concentrated acid medium (1–6 M H₂SO₄). Iron (III) was separated from pH 1 to 3. The kinetics of sorption of the Bi (III), Sb (III) and Fe (III) onto the Rod.B-PUF was found to be fast, the extraction is accomplished from 5 to 10 min with average values of half-life of sorption (t_1/2) of 2.9 min. The average values of the Gibbs free energy (ΔG) for the sorption of metal ions onto Rod.B-PUF are ?6.6 kJ mol^?1, which reflect the spontaneous nature of sorption process. The sorption mechanism of the metal ion onto Rod.B-PUF was also discussed.     

Spectrophotometric determination of traces of iron after extraction of Fe(II)-phenanthroline complex on polyurethane foam

A spectrophotometric method for the determination of traces of iron in glass and ceramic materials has been developed. The method involves formation of the Fe(II)-phenanthroline complex at pH 3-4 in aqueous medium, followed by its selective extraction and preconcentration on polyurethane foam from 2.5M perchloric acid and finally elution of the complex with acetone for spectrophotometric measurement at 510 nm. A wide linearity range from 0.05 to 3 mu g/ml Fe is obtained with the method. Co, Cu and Ni have no significant effect when they are present in the weight ratios Fe:Co < 1:2, Fe: Cu < 1:10 and Fe: Ni < 1:50. The method yielded satisfactory results when applied to various glass and ceramic samples.     

Spectrophotometric determination of aluminium by morin

A direct spectrophotometric method for the determination of aluminium with morin has been developed. Morin reacts in slightly acidic 50% ethanolic media (0.0001-0.0015 M H(2)SO(4)) with Al to give a deep-yellow chelate which has an absorption maximum at 421 nm. The average molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity were found to be 5.3 x 10(3) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 5 ng of Al cm(-2), respectively. The reaction is instantaneous and absorbance remains stable for 48 h. The colour system obeys Beer's law from 10 ng ml(-1) to 5.0 mug ml(-1) of Al; the stoichiometric composition of the chelate is 2:3 (Al:morin). The interference from over 50 cations, anions and complexing agents has been studied at 0.1 mug ml(-1) of Al. The method was applied successfully to some certified reference material samples (alloys and steels), environmental waters (inland and surface), biological samples (human blood, urine and gallstone), soils and complex synthetic mixtures.     

Determination of molybdenum by extraction of its thiocyanate into ethyl methyl ketone

A simple, sensitive and selective spectrophotometric method for determination of molybdenum is described. A solution containing 100 mug of Mo in 2.5M hydrochloric acid is treated with ascorbic acid and ammonium thiocyanate and after standing for 8 min is shaken with an equal volume of ethyl methyl ketone for 30 sec. The absorbance of the complex is measured at 465 nm against a reagent blank. The complex is stable for 1 hour. There is no interference from Re(VII), SO(2-)(4), Cl(-), CH(3)COO(-), PO(3-)(4), NO(-)(3), C(2)O(2-)(4), citrate or tartrate, and at least 5 mg of U(VI), 10 mg of Cr(III, VI), Th, or Ni, and 20 mg of W(VI) Can be tolerated. Vanadium(V) interferes at the 500 mug level, and fluoride slightly decreases the absorbance.     

The use of phenylfluorone in the presence of cetylpyridinium chloride and Triton X-100 for the spectrophotometric determination of copper(II) in blood serum

A simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method for determination of copper(II) is based on the formation of a blue coloured complex of Cu(II) with 9-phenyl-2,3,7-trihydroxy-6-fluorone (PF) in the presence of cetylpyridinium chloride (CP) and Triton X-100, has been developed. Optimum concentrations of PF, CP, Triton X-100 and pH ensuring maximum absorbance were defined. The complex Cu(II)-PF-CP-Triton X-100 shows maximum absorbance at 595 nm with a molar absorptivity value of 9.67x10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1). The detection limit of the method is 0.028 mug ml(-1). Beer's law is obeyed for copper concentrations in the range 0.04-0.4 mug ml(-1). The studies of the effect of foreign ions on determination of copper, show that the selectivity of the method is poor. The cations of alkali metals and anions Br(-), Cl(-), I(-), F(-), NO(2)(-), NO(3)(-), CH(3)COO(-), SO(4)(2-), S(2)O(3)(2-), PO(4)(3-), citrates (examined in 1000-fold molar excess over copper) do not affect the determination. All cations forming complexes with PF have an interfering effect. The statistical evaluation of the method was carried out for six determinations using 10 mug of Cu and the following results were obtained: the standard deviation, SD=0.042, the confidence interval mu(95)=10.1+/-0.1 mug Cu. The method has been applied for determination of copper in blood serum.     

Determination of antimony(III) in environmental water samples in microemulsion system by the fluorescence quenching method

A novel highly sensitive and selective fluorescent reagent, 2,6,7-trihydroxy-9-(3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxyphenyl)fluorone (DBH-PF) has been studied for the spectrofluorimetic determination of antimony(III) in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) microemulsion media. DBH-PF reacts with antimony(III) forming a complex with 1:2 (metal to ligand) antimony-DBH-PF in the system of HAc-NaAc buffer solution at pH 5.33. The maximum excitation and emission wavelengths are at 522 and 556 nm, respectively. The linear range of the method is 0.05 approximately 1.50 mug 10 ml(-1) and the detection limit is 0.015 mug 10 ml(-1). Foreign ions are eliminated by preconcentration and separation with sulfhydryl dextrose gel (SDG) at pH 1.0. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of antimony(III) in industrial waste water samples with satisfactory results.     

Molybdenum determination in iron matrices by ICP-AES after separation and preconcentration using polyurethane foam

A procedure is proposed for the separation and determination of molybdenum in iron matrices by a batch process. It is based on the solid-phase extraction of the molybdenum(V) ion as thiocyanate complex on polyurethane (PU) foam. The extraction parameters were optimized. Using 0.20 mol L-1 hydrochloric acid, a thiocyanate concentration of 0.10 mol L-1, 100 mg of polyurethane foam and shaking time of 10 min, molybdenum (5-400 micrograms) can be separated and preconcentrated from large amounts of iron (10 mg). Desorption was carried out instantaneously by conc. nitric acid or acetone. Distribution coefficients, sorption capacity of the PU foam and coefficients of variation were also evaluated. The effect of some ions on the separation procedure was assessed. Iron(III) should be reduced to iron(II). The proposed procedure was used to determine molybdenum in standard iron matrices such as steel and pure iron. The achieved results did not show significant differences with certified values.     

Liquid-liquid extraction separation of iron (III) with 2-ethyl hexyl phosphonic acid mono 2-ethyl hexyl ester

Liquid-liquid extraction separation of iron(III) with 2-ethyl hexyl phosphonic acid mono 2-ethyl hexyl ester (PC-88A) in toluene has been studied. Quantitative extraction of iron(III) with 5 x 10(-3) M PC-88A in toluene is observed in the pH range 0.75-2.5. From the extracted complex species in the organic phase iron(III) was stripped with 1-4 M HNO(3), 1.5-4 M H(2)SO(4) and 1.5-4 M HCl, and later determined spectrophotometrically by thiocyanate method. Separation of iron(III) was carried out with some of the first transition metals in binary and multicomponent mixtures. This method was extended for the determination of iron in real samples.     

Trace adsorptive voltammetric determination of antimony in hair

A very sensitive electrochemical procedure for trace determination of antimony is described. The complex of antimony with p-dimethyl-aminophenyl-fluorone (p-DMPF) is adsorbed on a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE), and the reduction current of the accumulated complex is measured by voltammetry. In linear sweep voltammetry, the reduction potential of the complex is more positive than that of the free dye. The peak height of the complex is proportional to the concentration of antimony in the range of 4.0 x 10(-9) to 4.0 x 10(-7) M, the detection limit is 1.0 x 10(-9) M Sb(III) for a 5 min preconcentration time. The relative standard error for the determination of 8.0 x 10(-8) M Sb(III) is 2.9%.     

Spectrophotometric determination of antimony with 3,5,7,4'-tetrahydroxyflavone (kaempferol)

A selective spectrophotometric method is described for determination of antimony with kaempferol. Microgram amounts of antimony can be determined by measurements at 420 run in 0.1M hydrochloric acid. The molar absorptivity is 1.09 x 10(4) at 420 nm and the optimum range for accurate determination is 1.9-7.8 ppm of antimony.     

Molybdenum determination in iron matrices by ICP-AES after separation and preconcentration using polyurethane foam

A procedure is proposed for the separation and determination of molybdenum in iron matrices by a batch process. It is based on the solid-phase extraction of the molybdenum(V) ion as thiocyanate complex on polyurethane (PU) foam. The extraction parameters were optimized. Using 0.20 mol L^–1 hydrochloric acid, a thiocyanate concentration of 0.10 mol L^–1, 100 mg of polyurethane foam and shaking time of 10 min, molybdenum (5–400 μg) can be separated and preconcentrated from large amounts of iron (10 mg). Desorption was carried out instantaneously by conc. nitric acid or acetone. Distribution coefficients, sorption capacity of the PU foam and coefficients of variation were also evaluated. The effect of some ions on the separation procedure was assessed. Iron(III) should be reduced to iron(II). The proposed procedure was used to determine molybdenum in standard iron matrices such as steel and pure iron. The achieved results did not show significant differences with certified values.     

Spectrophotometric flow injection determination of formetanate and m-aminophenol in water after reaction with p-aminophenol

An automated procedure has been developed for the determination of formetanate and its metabolite m-aminophenol (MAP) in water samples. MAP can be selectively determined in the presence of formetanate by direct on-line reaction with p-aminophenol and spectrophotometric measurement of the absorbance at 576 nm in the presence of KIO(4), as oxidizing agent. The method has a limit of detection of 5 x 10(-7)M, it provides a recovery percentage from 95 to 104% and permits one to carry out 120 measurements/hr. The spectrophotometric determination of formetanate must be carried out after a previous hydrolysis to MAP. To determine formetanate in the presence of MAP, two steps are necessary. Firstly, the MAP content is selectively determined as has been mentioned above. After that, the sample is treated with 0.05M NaOH at 90' degrees C, to hydrolyze the formetanate to MAP, and then the sum of both is determined spectrophotometrically. The difference between the results obtained in each step gives the formetanate concentration. The developed procedure for the determination of formetanate provides a sensitivity of 1070 absorbance units mol(-1) l and a limit of detection of 1.9 x 10(-7)M, which corresponds to 50 mug/l of formetanate hydrochloride. The method has been applied to the analysis of natural water samples fortified with formetanate and MAP, and formetanate has also been quantitatively recovered in irrigation waters at a concentration level of 1.9 x 10(-6)M which corresponds to 500 mug/l. On the other hand, working in the stopped-flow mode, for a reaction time of 100 sec, the sensitivity of the formetanate determination can be increased to 4642 absorbance units mol(-1) l but the limit of detection remains of the order of 44 mug/l.     

Spectrophotometric flow-injection determination of nickel in biological materials

A flow injection method has been developed for the direct determination of free available Pb(II) and total Pb content in wine samples. The method is based on the chemical sorption of Pb(II), from pH 7 buffered solutions, on a packed polyurethane foam column, modified by addition of 2-(2-benzothiazolylazo)-p-cresol (BTAC). After this step, lead was directly eluted with a stream of 0.1 mol l(-1) HCl into an air C(2)H(2) flame in which lead was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Total lead was analyzed after sample digestion with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide, being free available lead determined by direct sample on-line preconcentration and elution. The method provides a limit of detection (3sigma) of 1 mug l(-1) lead and relative standard deviation, which varies from 6 to 0.7% for lead concentration of 10 and 500 mug l(-1). Total content of lead in wine samples analyzed varied from 8 to 42 mug l(-1) being obtained free available values of Pb(II) under the limit of detection of the method. Recovery studies on natural wine samples, spicked with inorganic lead, evidenced the remaining capability of ligands, present in the wine, to avoid lead retention on the polyurethane foam loaded with BTAC.     

Determination of antimony in concentrates, ores and non-ferrous materials by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry after iron-lanthanum collection, or by the iodide method after further xanthate extraction

Methods for determining trace and moderate amounts of antimony in copper, nickel, molybdenum, lead and zinc concentrates and in ores are described. Following sample decomposition, antimony is oxidized to antimony(V) with aqua regia, then reduced to antimony(III) with sodium metabisulphite in 6M hydrochloric acid medium and separated from most of the matrix elements by co-precipitation with hydrous ferric and lanthanum oxides. Antimony (>/= 100 mug/g) can subsequently be determined by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry, at 217.6 nm after dissolution of the precipitate in 3M hydrochloric acid. Alternatively, for the determination of antimony at levels of 1 mug/g or more, the precipitate is dissolved in 5M hydrochloric acid containing stannous chloride as a reluctant for iron(III) and thiourea as a complexing agent for copper. Then tin is complexed with hydrofluoric acid, and antimony is separated from iron, tin, lead and other co-precipitated elements, including lanthanum, by chloroform extraction of its xanthate. It is then determined spectrophotometrically, at 331 or 425 nm as the iodide. Interference from co-extracted bismuth is eliminated by washing the extract with hydrochloric acid of the same acid concentration as the medium used for extraction. Interference from co-extracted molybdenum, which causes high results at 331 nm, is avoided by measuring the absorbance at 425 nm. The proposed methods are also applicable to high-purity copper metal and copper- and lead-base alloys. In the spectrophotometric iodide method, the importance of the preliminary oxidation of all of the antimony to antimony(V), to avoid the formation of an unreactive species, is shown.     

Spectrophotometric study of the reactions of arsenazo III with alkaline-earth metals

Arsenazo III is used as a spectrophotometric reagent for alkaline-earth metals. The molar absorptivities of the calcium, strontium and barium complexes at 650 nm are 4.40 x 10(4), 4.00 x 10(4) and 3.65 x 10(4) l.mole(-1).cm(-1) respectively. The interference of magnesium is eliminated at pH 5-6. The use of sodium sulphate as masking agent permits the determination of small amounts of calcium, strontium and magnesium in the presence of barium. The alkaline-earth ions can be determined in the presence of each other at pH 4.2 at the 2-10 mug level. Some organic solvents such as dioxan, acetone and ethanol increase the sensitivity and selectivity in acidic medium. The stability constants have been measured and the structure of the complexes is discussed.     

Selective determination of cobalt using polyurethane foam and 2-(2-benzothiazolylazo)-2-p-cresol as a spectrophotometric reagent

The present work describes a selective, rapid and economical method for the determination of cobalt using the 2-(2-benzothiazolylazo)-p-cresol (BTAC) as a spectrophotometric reagent associated with a solid extraction on polyurethane foam. The BTAC reacts with Co(II) in the presence of Triton-X100 surfactant forming a green complex with maximum absorption at 615 nm. The reaction is used for cobalt determination within a pH range of 6.50-7.50, with an apparent molar absorptivity of 1.62 x 10(4) L mol(-1) cm(-1). Beer's Law is obeyed for a concentration of at least 1.60 microg ml(-1). A selective procedure is proposed for cobalt determination in the presence of Fe(II), Hg(II), Zn(II) and Cu(II) up to milligram levels using masking agents. Polyurethane foam is used for the preconcentration and separation of cobalt from thiocyanate media and this procedure is applied to its determination in nickel salts and steel alloys.     

Differential determination of antimony(III) and antimony(V) by solvent extraction-spectrophotometry with mandelic acid and Malachite Green, based on the difference in reaction rates

Highly sensitive and reproducible extraction-spectrophotometric methods for differential determination of antimony(III) and antimony(V) were investigated. It was found that antimony(III) reacts easily with mandelic acid to form a complex anion extractable into chlorobenzene with Malachite Green from weakly acidic media (pH 2.2-3.5) at room temperature, whereas antimony(V) reacts only slowly, and heating for 15 min at 45 degrees is needed to obtain maximum sensitivity. The significant difference between the rates of reaction of mandelic acid with antimony(III) and antimony(V) was applied to the differential determination of these two species. The calibration graph was linear over the range 0.15-6.0 mug for antimony(III), and 0.20-10 mug for antimony(V).