3-Hydroxy-2-(2"-Thienyl)-4H-Chromon-4-one as a Spectrophotometric Reagent for the Trace Determination of Zirconium in an Aqueous Phase

A rapid, simple, selective, and sensitive method for the trace determination of zirconium has been developed based on the reaction of 3-hydroxy-2-(2"-thienyl)-4H-chromon-4-one in an hydrochloric acid medium to form a yellow–colored complex which is rendered water soluble by the micellar action of Triton X-100 and measured at 415 nm. Most of the metal ions do not interfere with the determination. Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration range 0–2.0 g/mL and the molar absorptivity of the complex is 2.73 × 10⁴L mol^–1cm^–1; Sandell's sensitivity is found to be 0.0034 g cm^–2. The method has been applied for the determination of zirconium in various samples, and satisfactory results have been obtained.