Spectrophotometric and second-derivative spectrophotometric determination of mercury in organomercurials by means of benzyl 2-pyridyl ketone 2-quinolylhydrazone

Mercury(II) reacts with benzyl 2-pyridylketone 2-quinolylhydrazone (BPKQH) in the pH range 9.0-10.4, to form a stable 1:2 (metal:ligand) complex which has a sharp absorption maximum at 475 nm and molar absorptivity 5.01 x 10(4) 1.mole(-1).cm(-1). It is proposed for use in spectrophotometric determination of mercury at microg/ml levels and analysis for organomercurials. The sensitivity of the method can be increased significantly by employing derivative spectrophotometry, making mercury determination at ng ml levels feasible.