Complexometric determination of mercury(II) in waters by spectrophotometry of its dithizone complex

This paper presents a new method for the determination of Hg(II) in waters, using indirect spectrophotometric measurements of the Hg(II) dithizone complex. The reagent is a mixture of dithizone, CDTA (1,2-cyclohexylene-dinitrilo-tetraacetic acid), thiourea, ethylic alcohol and glycine. Sensitivity and working range are 0.4 g · l^–1 and 2–100 g · l^–1, respectively. A comparison of the results with those of the cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry shows a good correlation for different samples revealing only small interferences. The new method is well suited for on-line measurements, easy to run and has low cost equipment.