Preconcentration of cobalt using Amberlyst 36 as a solid-phase extractor and its determination in various environmental samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A new and simple column-solid-phase extraction method has been developed to separate and preconcentrate trace cobalt in water and soil prior to its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Different factors such as pH of sample solution, sample volume, amount of resin, flow rate of aqueous solution, volume and concentration of eluent, and matrix effects for preconcentration were optimized. Under optimized experimentally established conditions, an analytical detection limit of 0.44?µg?L^?1, precision (RSD) of 1.9%, enrichment factor of 200, and capacity of resin of 82?mg?g^?1 were obtained. The method was applied for cobalt determination by FAAS in tap water, natural drinking water, soil, and roadside dust samples. The accuracy of the method is confirmed by analysing standard reference material (Montana Soil, SRM 2711).     

Flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of lead in waste water and effluent after preconcentration using a rapid coprecipitation technique with gallium phosphate

A determination method for lead in waste water and effluent was studied using flame atomic absorption spectrometry after preconcentration of lead by the rapid coprecipitation technique with gallium phosphate. Lead ranging from 0.5 to 50 microg was quantitatively coprecipitated with gallium phosphate from 100-150 mL sample solution (pH approximately 5). The presence of gallium phosphate did not affect the atomic absorbance of lead. Since the concentration of gallium in the final sample solution is also measurable by flame atomic absorption spectrometry at 250.0 nm without further dilution, the rapid coprecipitation technique, which does not require complete collection of the precipitate, becomes possible using a known amount of gallium and measuring the concentrations of both lead and gallium in the final sample solution by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The 32 diverse ions tested gave no significant interferences in the lead determination. The method proposed here is rapid and has good reproducibility.     

Flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of lead in waste water and effluent after preconcentration using a rapid coprecipitation technique with gallium phosphate

A determination method for lead in waste water and effluent was studied using flame atomic absorption spectrometry after preconcentration of lead by the rapid coprecipitation technique with gallium phosphate. Lead ranging from 0.5 to 50 μg was quantitatively coprecipitated with gallium phosphate from 100–150 mL sample solution (pH ∼5). The presence of gallium phosphate did not affect the atomic absorbance of lead. Since the concentration of gallium in the final sample solution is also measurable by flame atomic absorption spectrometry at 250.0 nm without further dilution, the rapid coprecipitation technique, which does not require complete collection of the precipitate, becomes possible using a known amount of gallium and measuring the concentrations of both lead and gallium in the final sample solution by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The 32 diverse ions tested gave no significant interferences in the lead determination. The method proposed here is rapid and has good reproducibility. Received: 16 August 1999 / Revised: 6 October 1999 / Accepted: 14 October 1999     

Application of internal standardization to rapid coprecipitation technique using lanthanum phosphate for flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of iron and lead.

By applying an internal standardization, we could use a rapid coprecipitation technique using lanthanum phosphate as a coprecipitant for preconcentration of iron(III) and lead in their flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination. Indium as an internal standard was added to the initial sample solution together with lanthanum and phosphoric acid; the coprecipitation of iron(III) and lead was then carried out at pH about 3. After measuring the atomic absorbances of iron, lead, and indium in the final sample solution, we determined the contents of iron(III) and lead in the original sample solution by using the internal standardization with indium. In this method, complete collection of the precipitate was not required after the coprecipitation of iron(III), lead, and indium, because the ratio of the recovery of iron(III) or lead to that of indium was almost constant regardless of the recovery of the precipitate. This method was simple and rapid, and was available for the determination of 2-300 micrograms L-1 of iron(III) and 5-400 micrograms L-1 of lead in some water samples.     

Coprecipitation with lanthanum phosphate as a technique for separation and preconcentration of iron(III) and lead

The usefulness of coprecipitation with lanthanum phosphate for separation and preconcentration of some heavy metals has been investigated. Although lanthanum phosphate coprecipitates iron(III) and lead quantitatively at pH 2.3, iron(II) can barely be collected at this pH. This coprecipitation technique was applicable to the separation and preconcentration of iron(III) before inductively coupled plasma atomic-emission spectrometric (ICP-AES) determination; the recoveries of iron(III) and iron(II) from spiked water samples were 103-105% and 0.2-0.7%, respectively. The coprecipitation was also useful for separation of 20 microg lead from 100 mL of an aqueous solution that also contained 1-100 mg iron. Coprecipitation of iron was substantially suppressed by addition of ascorbic acid, which enabled recovery of 97-103% of lead added to the solution, bringing the recovery to within 1.6-5.0% of the relative standard deviations. Lanthanum phosphate can also coprecipitate cadmium and indium quantitatively, although chromium(III), cobalt, and nickel and large amounts of sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium are barely coprecipitated at pH approximately/= 3.     

Modified nanoalumina sorbent for sensitive trace cobalt determination in environmental and food samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

1-(2-pryidylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) immobilized on sodium dodecyl sulfate-coated nano alumina was developed for the preconcentration and determination of metal cations Co (II) from environmental and food samples. The research results displayed that adsorbent has the highest adsorption capacity for Co (II) in this system. Desorption by elution of the adsorbent with 2.0?ml of a mixture of nitric acid and ethanol was carried out. After phase separation, the enriched analyte in the final solution is determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) by using a micro sample introduction system. Analytical influencing parameters including pH value, amount of sorbent, equilibrium time, sample volume, volume and concentration of eluent were examined. The effect of common matrix ions has also been investigated and it was found that they had no influence on cobalt preconcentration. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the maximum capacity of sorbent was obtained as 20?mg?g^?1. The preconcentration factor and limit of detection were found to be 250 and 0.15?µg?L^?1, respectively. This method showed good precision with the relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2.4% and 2.1% in concentrations of 20 and 50?µg?L^?1, respectively. The accuracy of the method was evaluated by comparison of results with those obtained by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. This method was successfully applied for preconcentration and determination of Co (II) in environmental and food samples.     

Determination of cadmium in river water by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry after internal standardization-assisted rapid coprecipitation with lanthanum phosphate.

Cadmium ranging from 1 - 8 ng could be coprecipitated quantitatively with lanthanum phosphate at pH 5 - 6 from up to 200 mL of river water samples spiked with 5 microg of indium as an internal standard. Cadmium and indium coprecipitated were measured by using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The cadmium content in the original sample solution could be determined by internal standardization with indium. Since complete collection of the precipitate and strict adjustment of the volume of the final solution after coprecipitation are not required in this method, the precipitate could be collected by using decantation and centrifugation, and then dissolved with 1 mL of about 2.4 mol L(-1) nitric acid. The proposed method is simple and rapid, and enrichment close to 200-times can be attained; the detection limit (3sigma, n = 6) was 0.63 ng L(-1) in 200 mL of the sample solution.     

On-line simultaneous pre-concentration procedure for the determination of cadmium and lead in drinking water employing sequential multi-element flame atomic absorption spectrometry

An on-line pre-concentration system for the sequential determination of cadmium and lead in drinking water by using fast sequential flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FS-FAAS) is proposed in this paper. Two minicolums of polyurethane foam loaded with 2-(6-methyl-2-benzothiazolylazo)-orcinol (Me-BTAO) were used as sorptive pre-concentration media for cadmium and lead. The analytical procedure involves the quantitative uptake of both analyte species by on-column chelation with Me-BTAO during sample loading followed by sequential elution of the analytes with 1.0?mol?L^?1 hydrochloric acid and determination by FS-FAAS. The optimisation of the entire analytical procedure was performed using a Box–Behnken multivariate design utilising the sampling flow rate, sample pH and buffer concentration as experimental variables.

The proposed flow-based method featured detection limits (3σ) of 0.08 and 0.51?µg?L^?1 for cadmium and lead, respectively, precision expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.63% and 3.87% (n?=?7) for cadmium at the 2.0?µg?L^?1 and 10.0?µg?L^?1 levels, respectively, and RSD of 6.34% and 3.26% (n?=?7) for lead at the 5.0?µg?L^?1 and 30.0?µg?L^?1 levels, respectively. The enrichment factors achieved were 38.6 and 30.0 for cadmium and lead, respectively, using a sample volume of 10.0?mL. The sampling frequency was 45 samples per hour. The accuracy was confirmed by analysis of a certified reference material, namely, SRM 1643d (Trace elements in natural water). The optimised method was applied to the determination of cadmium and lead in drinking water samples collected in Santo Amaro da Purificação City, Bahia, Brazil.     

Determination of heavy metals at sub-ppm levels in seawater and dialysis solutions by FAAS after tetrakis(pyridine)-nickel(II)bis(thiocyanate) coprecipitation.

A coprecipitation method has been developed for the determination of Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Cu(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions in aqueous samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) with the combination of pyridine, nickel(II) as a carrier element and potassium thiocyanate as an auxiliary complexing agent. The obtained coprecipitates were dissolved with nitric acid and measured by FAAS. The coprecipitation conditions, such as the effect of the pH, amounts of nickel, pyridine and potassium thiocyanate, sample volume, and the standing time of the precipitate formation were examined in detail. It was found that the metal ions studied were quantitatively coprecipitated with tetrakis(pyridine)-nickel(II)bis(thiocyanate) precipitate (TP-Ni-BT) in the pH range of 9.0 - 10.5. The reliability of the results was evaluated by recovery tests, using synthetic seawater solutions spiked with the analyte metal ions. The obtained recoveries ranged from 96 to 101% for all of the metal ions investigated. The proposed method was validated by analyses of two certified reference materials (NIST SRM 2711 Montana soil and HPS Certified Waste Water Trace Metals Lot #D532205). It was also successfully applied to seawater and dialysis solution samples. The detection limits (n = 25, 3s) were in the range of 0.01-2.44 microg l(-1) for the studied elements and the relative standard deviations were < or =6%, which indicated that this method could fully satisfy the requirements for analysis of such samples as seawater and dialysis solution having high salt contents.     

On-line separation and preconcentration of trace cadmium in environmental water samples by micro column filled with modified nanometer Si-HAP prior to FAAS determination

A novel method of on-line solid phase extraction (SPE) preconcentration has been established for the determination of cadmium in environmental water samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The method is based on the on-line retention of cadmium on a micro column of nanometer Silicon Hydroxyapatite (Si-HAP) modified with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-bonzoil-5-pyrazone (PMBP) and subsequent elution with 1.0?M thiourea and determination by FAAS. The effect of various parameters that could affect the performance of the system was investigated. The enrichment factor (EF) for cadmium (II) was 250. The limit of detection (LOD) obtained under optimum conditions was 0.28?µg?L^?1 and the relative standard deviation (RSD) for seven replicates at 100?µg?L^?1 Cd²⁺ concentration level was 1.4%. The method was applied to water samples and standard reference materials. The accuracy was assessed through recovery experiments and comparing the results with the accepted values of standard reference material.     

Ionic liquid ultrasound assisted dispersive liquid–liquid/micro-volume back extraction procedure for preconcentration and determination of ultra trace amounts of thallium in water and biological samples

A simple, highly sensitive and environment-friendly method, combined with flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) is developed to preconcentrate and determine trace amounts of thallium in aqueous solutions. In the preconcentration step, the thallium (I) from 30?mL of an aqueous solution was extracted into 350?µL of ionic liquid, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexa?uorophosphate [Hmim][PF₆], containing dicyclohexyl-18-crown-6 (DCH-18-crown-6) as complexing agent. Subsequently, the DCH-18-crown-6 complex was back-extracted into 300?µL of nitric acid (2?mol?L^?1) solution, and analyzed by FAAS. Several parameters in?uencing the extraction and determination of thallium, such as pH, concentration of DCH-18-crown-6, sonication and centrifugation times, sample volume, ionic liquid amounts, ionic strength, and concentration of stripping acid solution, were optimized. Under optimum conditions, the calibration graph was linear in the range of 5 to 400?ng?mL^?1, the detection limit was 0.64?ng?mL^?1 (3S_b/m, n?=?7), the enhancement factor was 98.2 and the relative standard deviation was ±1.43%. The results for preconcentration and determination of trace amount of thallium in waste water, well water, tap water, sea water, human hair and nail demonstrated the accuracy, recovery and applicability of the presented method.     

On-line determination of palladium by flame atomic absorption spectrometry coupled with a separation/preconcentration minicolumn containing a new sorbent

A method was developed for the on-line determination of palladium in complex matrices with flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) using Amberlite XAD-16 resin functionalized with 2-[2-(5-thiol-1,3,4-thiadiazolyl)]-azonaphthol (TTAN) reagent. Optimum experimental conditions such as pH of sample, type of eluent, amount of resin, volumes of sample and eluent solution, flow rates of sample and eluent, and effect of interfering ions were established. A 0.1?mol?L^?1 thiourea solution in 0.5?mol?L^?1 HCl was used as the eluent and subsequently transportation the analyte ions into the nebulizer–burner system for atomization. The synthesized chelating resin material showed excellent chemical and mechanical resistance, fast adsorption kinetics permitting the use of high sample flow rates without significant losses of retention efficiency. The detection limit of the method was 1.5?µg?L^?1 while the relative standard deviation (RSD%) was 2.4% at 0.1?mg?L^?1 Pd(II) level. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of palladium in the catalytic converter and water samples.     

Determination of trace cadmium in waters by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry after preconcentration with 1-nitroso-2-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic acid on Ambersorb 572

A procedure for the determination of trace amount of cadmium after adsorption of its 1-nitroso-2-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic acid chelate on Ambersorb 572 has been proposed. This chelate is adsorbed on the adsorbent in the pH range 3-8 from large volumes of aqueous solution of water samples with a preconcentration factor of 200. After being sorbed, cadmium was eluted by 5 mL of 2.0 mol L(-1) nitric acid solution and determined directly by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometery (FAAS). The detection limit (3sigma) of cadmium was 0.32 microg L(-1). The precision of the proposed procedure, calculated as the relative standard deviation of recovery in sample solution (100 mL) containing 5 microg of cadmium was satisfactory (1.9%). The adsorption of cadmium onto adsorbent can formally be described by a Langmuir equation with a maximum adsorption capacity of 19.6 mg g(-1) and a binding constant of 6.5 x 10(-3) L mg(-1). Various parameters, such as the effect of pH and the interference of a number of metal ions on the determination of cadmium, have been studied in detail to optimize the conditions for the preconcentration and determination of cadmium in water samples. This procedure was applied to the determination of cadmium in tap and river water samples.     

Comparison of carrier elements for coprecipitation and graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

The group IIIB elements (aluminum, gallium and indium) and iron(III) were studied from the standpoint of the advantageous combination of coprecipitation and graphite-furnace atomic absorption Spectrometry (GFAAS). Milligram quantities of four hydroxides were precipitated at different pH's from solutions containing traces of copper(II) and cadmium(II) ions, in order to examine the effect of pH on the coprecipitation. Almost similar results were obtained for gallium, indium and iron hydroxides, with which the copper and cadmium were coprecipitated nearly completely at pH>7. In case of aluminum hydroxide, the optimal pH range was narrow because of the redissolution of the precipitate in alkaline solutions. The removal of indium carrier was successfully achieved by volatilization as bromide at the pyrolysis stage in GFAAS, otherwise serious background absorption interfered with the trace determination. Volatilization loss of cadmium was eliminated by adding a small amount of miourea. Gallium carrier was mostly removed as chloride, but large background absorption still occurred in the determination of cadmium.     

Comparison of the performance of pyridine-functionalized nanoporous silica particles for the extraction of gold(III) from natural samples

We have developed a technique for the solid-phase extraction of gold using various kinds of pyridine-functionalized nanoporous silica prior to its determination in various samples using FAAS. The effects of solution pH, sample and eluent flow rate, sample volume and of potentially interfering ions are compared. The limits of detections vary from 28 to 53?pg?mL^?1. The accuracy and precision are between 99.8% and 98.3?% and 0.7 to 1.6?% (RSD), respectively. The method was successfully applied to several standard reference materials.

Determination of trace impurities in some nickel compounds by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after solid phase extraction using Amberlite XAD-16 resin

A simple flame atomic absorption spectrometric (FAAS) procedure for the determination of lead, bismuth, gold, palladium and cadmium as impurities in Raney nickel and nickel oxide was developed using a preconcentration step on an Amberlite XAD-16 resin packed column. Lead, bismuth, gold, palladium and cadmium were quantitatively recovered and separated from a solution containing 1 M HCl and 0.3 M NaI by the column system. Effects of the various parameters such as reagent concentrations, sample volume, matrix effects, etc. have been investigated. Under optimized conditions, the relative standard deviation of the combined method of sample treatment, preconcentration and determination with FAAS (n = 7) is generally lower than 12%. The limit of detection (3s, n = 20) was between 10–270 ng/g. The results were used for separation and preconcentration of five trace elements from nickel matrices.     

Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Sorbent for Flow Injection On‐Line Microcolumn Preconcentration Coupled with Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry for Determination of Cadmium and Copper

Abstract

Multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were used as sorbent for flow injection (FI) on‐line microcolumn preconcentration coupled with flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) for determination of trace cadmium and copper in environmental and biological samples. Effective preconcentration of trace cadmium and copper was achieved in a pH range of 4.5–6.5 and 5.0–7.5, respectively. The retained cadmium and copper were efficiently eluted with 0.5 mol L^?1 HCl for on‐line FAAS determination. The MWNTs packed microcolumn exhibited fairly fast kinetics for the adsorption of cadmium and copper, permitting the use of high sample flow rates up to at least 7.8 mL min^?1 for the FI on‐line microcolumn preconcentration system without loss of the retention efficiency. With a preconcentration time of 60 sec at a sample loading flow rate of 4.3 mL min^?1, the enhancement factor was 24 for cadmium and 25 for copper at a sample throughput of 45 h^?1. The detection limits (3σ) were 0.30 and 0.11 µg L^?1 for Cd and Cu, respectively. The precision (RSD) for 11 replicate measurements was 2.1% at the 10‐µg L^?1 Cd level and 2.4% at the 10‐µg L^?1 Cu level. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of trace Cd and Cu in a variety of environmental and biological samples.     

Separation,preconcentration and speciation of chromium by solid phase extraction on immobilised ferron

A sensitive and simple method for determination of chromium species after separation and preconcentration by solid phase extraction (SPE) has been developed. For the determination of the total concentration of chromium in solution, Cr(VI) was efficiently reduced to Cr(III) by addition of hydroxylamine and Cr(III) was preconcentrated on a column of immobilised ferron on alumina. The adsorbed analyte was then eluted with 5?mL of hydrochloric acid and was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometery. The speciation of chromium was affected by first passing the solution through an acidic alumina column which retained Cr(VI) and then Cr(III) was preconcentrated by immobilised ferron column and determined by FAAS. The concentration of Cr(VI) was determined from the difference of concentration of total chromium and Cr(III). The effect of pH, concentration of eluent, flow rate of sample and eluent solution, and foreign ions on the sorption of chromium (III) by immobilised ferron column was investigated. Under the optimised conditions the calibration curve was linear over the range of 2–400?µg?L^?1 for 1000?mL preconcentration volume. The detection limit was 0.32?µg?L^?1, the preconcentration factor was 400, and the relative standard deviation (%RSD) was 1.9% (at 10?µg?L^?1; n?=?7). The method was successfully applied to the determination of chromium species in water samples and total chromium in standard alloys.     

Preconcentration of trace heavy metals in water by coprecipitation with magnesium oxinate for electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Nanogram quantities of heavy metals in 200 ml of water were quantitatively preconcentrated by coprecipitation with magnesium oxinate at pH 9–9.5. The precipitate was collected on a 1-m Nuclepore membrane filter and then dissolved in 5 ml of 1 mol/l nitric acid. After diluting to 10 ml with water, a 10- or 20-l aliquot of the solution was directly analyzed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry using deuterium background correction. The background absorption due to the collector magnesium oxinate was negligibly small. The optimized coprecipitation technique has been applied to the determination of cobalt, nickel, copper, cadmium and lead at the ppt level in river and seawater. The relative standard deviations were within 10% and the detection limits were 0.025 (for Co), 0.019 (for Ni), 0.006 (for Cu), 0.001 (for Cd) and 0.017 g/l (for Pb). Blanks through the whole procedure were not detectable.     

Determination of113mCd in natural water

A method has been developed for the determination of^113mCd from fallout in large-volume environmental water samples. In the analytical procedure a known amount of cadmium carrier is added to the sample and the cadmium is preconcentrated as insoluble hydroxide by coprecipitation with ferric hydroxide. The separated cadmium is purified from other interfering elements by an anion—exchange procedure. Finally, cadmium is coprecipitated with copper sulfide, and the radioactivity of^113mCd is measured in a lowbackground, gas-flow proportional beta counter. The cadmium recovery is established by determining the amount of Cd in the precipitate using an energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometer. For a 24hr counting period a lower limit of detection around 50μBq^113mCd/1 of sample has been attained. Samples of Lake Michigan water were analyzed: the concentration of^113mCd in 1980 was 177±5 μBq/l.