Determination of cerium in rare earth ores by fluorescence quenching of rhodamine 6G

A fluorescence quenching method has been developed to determine cerium with rhodamine 6G. The method is based on the oxidation of rhodamine 6G by cerium(IV) in sulfuric acid solution. The linear calibration range is 4.0 × 10^–7 -1.6 × 10^–6mol/L. The detection limit is 1.0 × 10^–7 mol/L. The relative standard deviation was 1.0% (n = 5). The method has been used to determine cerium in rare earth ores, with satisfactory results. The method offers the advantages of simplisity, sensitivity and selectivity.