Simultaneous extraction and preconcentration of copper,silver and palladium with modified alumina and their determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

In the present work, an easy solid phase extraction method using alumina modified with polyethylenimine as a new adsorbent was applied to the simultaneous extraction of copper, silver, and palladium ions prior to their determination with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The analytical procedure involved the complex formation of these cations with polyethylenimine as a chelating agent in buffer media of pH 7.0. Under the optimum conditions, a preconcentration factor of 200, 150, and 200, precision of ±5.4%, ±4.7%, and ±5.2% and linear calibration ranges of 15.0-140, 4.0-93, and 7.5-125 ng/L (in original solution) for Cu, Ag, and Pd were obtained, respectively. Also detection limits of 3.9, 1.1, and 2.0 ng/L were obtained for Cu, Ag, and Pd, respectively. The proposed method was applied to the determination of copper, silver, and palladium in some real samples with satisfactory results.