Extraction and spectrophotometric determination of titanium(IV) with malachite green and p-chloromandelic acid, with application to mild steels

A very sensitive, selective and simple method for extraction and spectrophotometric determination of titanium(IV) with an alpha-hydroxy acid has been developed. p-Chloromandelic acid reacts with titanium in weakly acidic aqueous solution at room temperature to form a complex anion extractable into chlorobenzene with Malachite Green as counter-ion. Titanium is determined indirectly by measuring the absorbance of Malachite Green in the extract at 630 nm. The calibration graph is linear for titanium(IV) over the range 0.25-7.5muM (0.05-1.44 mug); the apparent molar absorptivity is 1.31 x 10(5) l.mole(-1).cm(-1). The method has been successfully applied to the determination of titanium in mild steels.