Differential Pulse Polarographic Determination of Trace Amounts of Lead in Alloys and Biological Samples after Column Preconcentration Using Nitroso-S and TDBA

A highly selective, sensitive, rapid, and economical differential pulse polarographic method has been developed for the determination of trace amounts of lead in various standard alloys and biological samples after the adsorption of its 2-nitroso-l-naphthol-4-sulfonic acid (nitroso-S)—tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium (TDBA) chloride on microcrystalline naphthalene in the pH range of 8.0–10.5. After filtration, the solid mass is shaken with 9.0 mL of 1 M hydrochloric acid, and lead is determined by differential pulse polarography (DPP). Lead can alternatively be quantitatively adsorbed on 2-nitroso-l-naphthol-4-sulfonic acid-tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium-naphthalene adsorbent packed in a column and determined similarly. In this case, 1.0 g of lead can be concentrated in a column from 500 mL of an aqueous sample in which its concentration is as low as 2 ng/mL. Characterization of the electroactive process included an examination of the degree of reversibility. Various parameters, such as the pH effect, volume of aqueous phase, HCl concentration, reagent concentration, naphthalene concentration, shaking time, and the interference of a number of metal ions on the determination of lead were studied in detail to optimize the conditions for determination in standard alloys and standard biological samples.