Spectrophotometric determination of traces of iron after extraction of Fe(II)-phenanthroline complex on polyurethane foam

A spectrophotometric method for the determination of traces of iron in glass and ceramic materials has been developed. The method involves formation of the Fe(II)-phenanthroline complex at pH 3-4 in aqueous medium, followed by its selective extraction and preconcentration on polyurethane foam from 2.5M perchloric acid and finally elution of the complex with acetone for spectrophotometric measurement at 510 nm. A wide linearity range from 0.05 to 3 mu g/ml Fe is obtained with the method. Co, Cu and Ni have no significant effect when they are present in the weight ratios Fe:Co < 1:2, Fe: Cu < 1:10 and Fe: Ni < 1:50. The method yielded satisfactory results when applied to various glass and ceramic samples.