Sensing of Trace Amounts of Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate by Solid Phase Spectrophotometry

A very simple, selective and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of dodecyl benzene sulfonate (DBS) has been investigated. In this method, the ion pair of DBS and methylene blue was adsorbed onto plasticized poly(vinylchloride) membrane as a solid phase extraction medium. The absorbance of the blue membrane was measured at 660nm against a blank membrane using a spectrophotometer. The influence of type and amount of plasticizer, pH, concentration of methylene blue, temperature of sample solution and time of extraction on the absorbance of membrane was studied. Linear calibration was obtained over a concentration range of 0.1 to 6.5µgmL^–1 of DBS. The method was applied to the determination of DBS in different commercial detergents. The precision and accuracy of the method is comparable with the conventional standard method. This method is cost-effective, and the use of organic solvent such as chloroform is completely eliminated.