Highly sensitive sorption-luminescence determination of trace europium with preconcentration on silica chemically modified with iminodiacetic acid

Features of a sorption-luminescence method for the determination of trace europium were studied. The method includes the preliminary sorption of europium at pH 7.1 from solutions with silica chemically modified with iminodiacetic acid, the subsequent treatment of the sorbent with 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone at pH 8.0, and the measurement of the intensity of luminescence of the surface three-component europium complex at 613 nm. The effect of moisture as the quencher of luminescence of the surface europium complex was studied, and techniques for its removal were proposed. Sorption in the static mode provides the detection limit of europium of 7 × 10^?5 µg/mL. The calibration plot is linear in the range of two orders of magnitude of europium concentration in solutions. The relative standard deviation in the determination of 1.5 × 10^?2 µg/mL europium is 5%. In the dynamic mode of sorption from 1000 mL of an analyzed solution with the use of sorption-desorption, the detection limit of europium of 8 × 10^?7 µg/mL was attained.