Differential pulse voltammetric determination of arsenic(III,V) and antimony (III,V) in glasses

Summary Analytical methods based on differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) have been described for the determination of total As, As(III), As(V), total Sb and Sb(III) as trace to minor constituents in complex glasses. For total As, the sample is decomposed with HF-H₂SO₄-KMnO₄. The As(V) is chemically reduced to As (III) by hypophosphite and a DPV scan is carried out at the dropping mercury electrode from –0.2 to –0.7 Vvs. SCE (E _p –0.41V). As(V) is determined by decomposing the sample in HF-H₂SO₄ and volatilizing the As(III) as AsF₃. The chemical reduction of As(V) and the DPV scan are then applied. If the glass can be decomposed with cold HF, the As(III) present in the glass can be determined by applying the DPV scan after cold sample-dissolution. For Sb(III), the sample is decomposed with HF-H₂SO₄, diluted, and adjusted to 1M in HCl. A DPV scan is conducted from –0.03 to –0.5 V (E _p –0.15 V). Sb(V) is not reduced in the 1M HCl supporting electrolyte. Total Sb is determined by using an aliquot of the sample solution adjusted to 6M in HCl. The DPV sweep is carried out from –0.5 to –0.1 V [E _p for Sb(V) and Sb(III) is –0.30 V]. The methods have been applied to a wide range of glass compositions and the results compared with values obtained by spectrophotometry and coulometric titration.

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Bestimmung von Arsen(III, V) und Antimon(III, V) in Gläsern mit Hilfe der Differential-Puls-Voltammetrie

Zusammenfassung Analytische Methoden auf der Grundlage der Differential-Puls-Voltammetrie (DPV) für die Bestimmung des gesamten Arsens, As(III), As(V), des gesamten Antimons und Sb(III) als Spuren in komplexen Gläsern wurden beschrieben. Zwecks Bestimmung des Gesamt-As wird die Probe mit Flußsäure +Schwefelsäure + Permanganat aufgeschlossen. As(V) wird mit Hypophosphit reduziert und die DPV wird an einer Quecksilber-Tropfelektrode zwischen –0,2 und –0,7V gegen eine ges. Kalomelelektrode (E _p =–0,41V) durchgeführt. Zur Bestimmung von As(V) wird die Probe mit HF-H₂SO₄ unter Verflüchtigung des As(III) als AsF₃ aufgeschlossen. Dann erfolgt die Reduktion des As(V) und die DPV. Wenn sich das Glas mit kalter HF lösen läßt, wird anwesendes As(III) mittels DPV in dieser Lösung bestimmt. Zur Bestimmung des Sb(III) wird die Probe mit HF-H₂SO₄ zersetzt, verdünnt und bis zur 1-Molarität mit HCl versetzt. Dann wird mit DPV zwischen –0,03 und –0,5V gemessen (E _p =–0,15V). Sb(V) wird in 1M salzsaurer Lösung nicht reduziert. Das Gesamt-Sb wird in einem Aliquot der Probelösung bestimmt, das dazu mit HCl bis zur 6fachen Molarität versetzt wird. Der DPV-Bereich wird von –0,5 bis –0,1 V ausgenützt (E _p f:ur Sb(V) und Sb(III) ist –0,30 V). Das Verfahren wurde für Gläser verschiedenster Zusammensetzung angewendet. Die Ergebnisse wurden mit den Resultaten der Spektrophotometrie und der coulometrischen Titration verglichen.

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Presented at the 8th International Microchemical Symposium, Graz, August 25–30, 1980.     

Determination of antimony(III) and (V) in natural water by cathodic stripping voltammetry with in-situ plated bismuth film electrode

A method is described for the sequential determination of Sb(III) and Sb(V) using Osteryoung square wave cathodic stripping voltammetry. It employs an in-situ plated bismuth-film on an edge-plane graphite substrate as the working electrode. Selective electro-deposition of Sb(III)/Sb(V) is accomplished by applying a potential of ?500 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, followed by reduction to stibine at a more negative potential in the stripping step. Stripping was carried out by applying a square wave waveform between ?500 and ?1400 mV to the antimony deposited. The stripping peak current at ?1150 mV is directly proportional to the concentration of Sb( III)/Sb(V). The calibration plots for Sb (III) were linear up to 12.0?µg L^?1 depending on the time of deposition. The calibration plots for Sb (V) were linear up to 7.0?µg L^?1, also depending on the time of deposition. The relative standard deviation in the determination of 0.1?µg L^?1 of Sb(III) is 4.0% (n?=?5), and the limit of detection is as low as 2 ng L^?1. In case of 0.1?µg L^?1 Sb(V), the relative standard deviation is 3.0% (n?=?5) and the detection limit also is 2 ng L^?1. The method was applied to the analysis of river and sea water samples.     

A simple spectrophotometric procedure for the determination of antimony (III) and (V) in antileishmanial drugs

A spectrophotometric method for the selective determination of antimony (III) and (V) in antileishmanial drugs is described. The procedure is based on the reaction of Sb(III) with bromopyrogallol red (BPR) in neutral solution. As a consequence of the Sb-BPR complex formed, the absorbance of BPR, at 560 nm, decreases proportionally to the amount of Sb(III) in the analyte solution. The calculated apparent molar absorptivity and determination limits are 3.67 × 10⁴ L?·?cm^–1?·?mol^–1 and 1.65 × 10^–6 mol/L, respectively. Sb(V) is determined after reduction to Sb(III) by iodide. The Sb(V) content determined in ten samples of Glucantime varied from 75.40 ± 0.97 to 94.47 ± 1.0 mg/mL. Sb(III) was detected in all samples analyzed, and mean values ranged from 5.19 ± 0.16 to 10.52 ± 0.15 mg/mL. The method is suitable for the routine quality control of pharmaceutical formulations.     

Differential preconcentration of arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) with thionalide loaded on silica gel

2-Mercapto-N-2-naphtylacetamide (thionalide) on silica gel is used for differential preconcentration of μg l^?1 levels of arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) from aqueous solution. In batch experiments, arsenic(III) was quantitatively retained on the gel from solutions of pH 6.5–8.5, but arsenic(V) and organic arsenic compounds were not retained. The chelating capacity of the gel was 5.6 μmol g^?1 As(III) at pH 7.0. Arsenic retained on teh column was completely eluted with 25 ml of 0.01 M sodium borate in 0.01 M sodium hydroxide containing 10 mg l^?1 iodine (pH 10). The arsenic was determined by silver diethyldithiocarbamate spectrophotometry. Arsenic(V) was subsequently determined after reduction to arsenic(III) with sulphite and iodide. Arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) in sea water are shown to be < 0.12 and 1.6 μg l^?1, respectively.     

Inorganic speciation of As(III, V), Se(IV, VI) and Sb(III, V) in natural water with GF-AAS using solid phase extraction technology

The paper presents a procedure for the multi-element inorganic speciation of As(III, V), Se(IV, VI) and Sb(III, V) in natural water with GF-AAS using solid phase extraction technology. Total As(III, V), Se(IV, VI) and Sb(III, V) were determined according to the following procedure: titanium dioxide (TiO₂) was used to adsorb inorganic species of As, Se and Sb in sample solution; after filtration, the solid phase was prepared to be slurry for determination. For As(III), Se(IV) and Sb(III), their inorganic species were coprecipitated with Pb-PDC, dissolved in dilute nitric acid, and then determined. The concentrations of As(V), Se(VI) and Sb(V) can be calculated by the difference of the concentrations obtained by the above determinations. For the determination of As(III), Se(IV) and Sb(III), palladium was chosen as a modifier and pyrolysis temperature was 800 °C. Optimum conditions for the coprecipitation were listed for 100 ml of sample solution: pH 3.0, 15 min of stirring time, 40.0 μg l⁻¹ Pb(NO₃)₂ and 150.0 μg l⁻¹ APDC. The proposed method was applied to the determination of trace amounts of As(III, V), Se(IV, VI) and Sb(III, V) in river water and seawater.     

Microcolumn sorption of antimony(III) chelate for antimony speciation studies

Selective sorption of the Sb(III) chelate with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) on a microcolumn packed with C₁₆-bonded silica gel phase was used for the determination of Sb(III) and of total inorganic antimony after reducing Sb(V) to Sb(III) by l-cysteine. A flow injection system composed of a microcolumn connected to the tip of the autosampler was used for preconcentration. The sorbed antimony was directly eluted with ethanol into the graphite furnace and determined by AAS. The detection limit for antimony was significantly lowered to 0.007 μg l⁻¹ in comparison to 1.7 μg l⁻¹ for direct injection GFAAS. This procedure was applied for speciation determinations of inorganic antimony in tap water, snow and urine samples. For the investigation of long-term stability of antimony species a flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry with quartz tube atomization (FI HG QT AAS) and GFAAS were used for selective determination of Sb(III) in the presence of Sb(V) and total content of antimony, respectively. Investigations on the stability of antimony in several natural samples spiked with Sb(III) and Sb(V) indicated instability of Sb(III) in tap water and satisfactory stability of inorganic Sb species in the presence of urine matrix.     

Simultaneous determination of Sb(III) and Sb(V) by partial least squares regression

A method for simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of Sb(III) and Sb(V) using multivariate calibration method is proposed. This method is based on the development of the reaction between the analytes and pyrogallol red at pH 2.00. The selection of variables was studied. A series of synthetic solutions containing different concentrations of Sb(III) and Sb(V) were used to check the prediction ability of the partial least squares model. The calibration curves were linear over the range of 0.3-3.4 and 0.3-3.0 μg ml⁻¹ for Sb(III) and Sb(V), respectively. The detection limits were 0.177 and 0.200 μg ml⁻¹ for Sb(III) and Sb(V), respectively.     

Simultaneous determination of arsenic, selenium and antimony species using HPLC/ICP-MS

A new method for the simultaneous separation and determination of four arsenic species [As(III), As(V), monomethylarsonic acid and dimethylarsinic acid], three selenium species [Se(IV), Se(VI) and selenomethionine] as well as Sb(III) and Sb(V) is presented. The speciation was achieved by on-line coupling of anion exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Chromatographic parameters such as the composition and pH of the mobile phase were optimised. Limits of detection are below 4.5 μg L^–1 (as element) for Sb(III) and the selenium species and below 0.5 μg L^–1 for the other species. Precisions of retention times were better than 2% RSD and of peak areas better than 8% RSD for all the species investigated.     

Speciation of antimony by atomic absorption spectrometry. Applicability to selective determination of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in liquid samples and of bioavailable antimony in sediments and soil samples

A comparative study was made of several methods to speciale Sb(III) and Sb(V) by AAS: 1) Selective extraction of Sb(III) with lactic acid/malachite green graphite furnace-AAS, 2) Sb(III) and total antimony determination by hydride generation-AAS coupled to flow injection, batch, and continuous flow systems. These methods were applied to determine total antimony and Sb(III) in sea and surface water and total antimony in sediments and in soil. For soils different sample pretreatments were used: HNO₃-H₂SO₄-HC1O₄, HF-HNO₃-H₂SO₄-HC1O₄, cold aqua regia and slurry formation procedures in water and 4M HC1. In each case the recovery of total antimony and the ability to selective determine Sb(III) were studied. The detection limits obtained were 0.01 ng, 0.07 ng, 2.97 ng and 0.21 ppb for GF-AAS, FIA-HG-AAS, HG (Batch)-AAS, and HG (continuous flow)-AAS, respectively.     

Flow constant-current stripping analysis for antimony(III) and antimony(V) with gold fibre working electrodes : Application to Natural Waters

Antimony(III) is determined by means of electrolysis at ?0.40 V vs. Ag/AgCl on a gold-coated gold fibre electrode for 0.5–10 min in a redox buffer containing 0.01 M iron(II) in 0.10 M hydrochloric acid, and subsequent stripping with a constant current of 0.50μA either in 2 M hydrochloric acid or in 4 M hydrochloric acid/4 M calcium chloride. Antimony(V) is determined by the same procedure in 4 M hydrochloric acid medium. Bismuth(III) is masked by the addition of iodide to the sample prior to electrolysis. Antimony(III) and antimony(V) are determined by standard addition methods; the whole procedure including digital and graphical evaluation of the results is fully automated. The antimony(V) concentrations in the river water reference sample SLRS-1 and the seawater reference sample NASS-1 were found to be 0.63 and 0.31 μg l^?1 with standard deviations of 0.046 and 0.051 μg l^?1, respectively (n=15). The certified value for SLRS- 1 is 0.63±0.05 μg l^?1; no certified value is available for NASS-1.     

A simple spectrophotometric procedure for the determination of antimony (III) and (V) in antileishmanial drugs

A spectrophotometric method for the selective determination of antimony (III) and (V) in antileishmanial drugs is described. The procedure is based on the reaction of Sb(III) with bromopyrogallol red (BPR) in neutral solution. As a consequence of the Sb-BPR complex formed, the absorbance of BPR, at 560 nm, decreases proportionally to the amount of Sb(III) in the analyte solution. The calculated apparent molar absorptivity and determination limits are 3.67 × 10⁴ L · cm^–1 · mol^–1 and 1.65 × 10^–6 mol/L, respectively. Sb(V) is determined after reduction to Sb(III) by iodide. The Sb(V) content determined in ten samples of Glucantime varied from 75.40 ± 0.97 to 94.47 ± 1.0 mg/mL. Sb(III) was detected in all samples analyzed, and mean values ranged from 5.19 ± 0.16 to 10.52 ± 0.15 mg/mL. The method is suitable for the routine quality control of pharmaceutical formulations. Received: 26 July 1996 / Revised: 17 October 1996 / Accepted: 11 December 1996     

Simultaneous determination of trace arsenic(III), antimony(III), total arsenic and antimony in Chinese medicinal herbs by hydride generation-double channel atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A new method was developed for simultaneous determination of trace arsenic and antimony in Chinese herbal medicines by hydride generation-double channel atomic fluorescence spectrometry with a Soxhlet extraction system and an n-octanol-water extraction system, respectively. The effects of analytical conditions on the fluorescence intensity were investigated and optimized. A water-dissolving and methanol-water-dissolving capability were compared. The contents of different species in five Chinese herbal medicines and their decoctions were analyzed. The concentration ratios of n-octanol-soluble As or Sb to water-soluble As or Sb were related to the kinds of medicine and the acidity of the decoction. Soxhlet extraction was found to be an effective method for plants pretreatment for determination of arsenic and antimony species in Chinese herbs; the interferences of coexisting ions were evaluated. The proposed method has the advantages of simple operation, high sensitivity and high speed, with 3σ detection limits of 0.094 μg g⁻¹ for As(III), 0.056 μg g⁻¹ for total As, 0.063 μg g⁻¹ for Sb(III) and 0.019 μg g⁻¹ for total Sb in a 1.0 g of the sample.     

Non-chromatographic speciation analysis of arsenic and antimony in milk hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A rapid, high sensitivity method has been developed for the determination of As(III), As(V), Sb(III) and Sb(V) in milk samples by using hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The method is based on the leaching of As and Sb from milk through the sonication of samples with aqua regia followed by direct determination of the corresponding hydrides both before and after reduction with KI. It was confirmed by recovery experiments on spiked commercially available samples that neither the reduced nor the oxidized forms of the elements under study or mixtures of the two oxidation states were modified by the room temperature sample treatment with aqua regia. The methodologies developed provided 3σ limit of detection values of 8.1, 10.3, 5.4 and 7.7 ng l⁻¹ for As(III), As(V), Sb(III) and Sb(V) in the diluted samples. Average relative standard deviation values of 5.7, 5.5, 8.2 and 4.7% were found for determination of As(III), As(V), Sb(III) and Sb(V) in commercially available samples of different composition and origin containing from 3.5 to 13.6 ng g⁻¹ total As and from 4.9 to 11.8 ng g⁻¹ total Sb, it being confirmed that As(V) and Sb(V) are the main species present in the samples analyzed (62±5 and 73±5%, respectively). The time required to determine As and Sb species in milk involves 10 min sonication and 30 min prereduction but these steps can be carried out for several sample simultaneously. Additionally the fluorescence measurement step involves less than 20 min for three replicates of all the four measurements required. So, in less than 2 h it is possible to determine the content of As(III), As(V), Sb(III) and Sb(V) in four samples.     

Determination of total antimony(III,V) by square-wave anodic stripping voltammetry with in situ plated bismuth-film electrode

A sensitive and reliable method is described for the determination of total Sb(III,?V) at traces levels by Osteryoung square-wave anodic stripping voltammery (OSWASV). This method is based on the co-deposition of Sb(III,?V) with Bi(III) onto an edge-plane pyrolytic graphite substrate at an accumulation step. OSWASV studies indicated that the co-deposited antimony was oxidised with anodic scans to give an enhanced anodic peak at about 450?mV vs. Ag/AgCl (sat. KCl). The anodic stripping peak current was directly proportional to the total concentration of antimony in the ranges of 0.01–0.10?µg?L^?1, 0.10–1.0?µg?L^?1 and 1.0–18.0?µg?L^?1 with correlation coefficient higher than 0.995 when 2.0?mol?L^?1 hydrochloric acid was used. The detection limits calculated as S/N?=?3 was 5.0?ng?L^?1 in 2.0?mol?L^?1 hydrochloric acid at 180?s deposition time. The relative standard deviation was 5% (n?=?6) at 0.10?µg?L^?1 level of antimony. The analytical results demonstrate that the proposed method is applicable to analyses of real water samples.     

Speciation of Antimony(III) and Antimony(V) in Bottled Water by Hydride Generation-Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry

Speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) was investigated using hydride generation with the selective formation of stibine from Sb(III). A continuous flow system using a homemade gas-liquid separator with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry was employed. The conditions and concentrations of NaBH₄, HCl, citric acid, and KI were optimized to obtain limits of detection of 0.05 for Sb(III) and 0.11 µg L^?1 for total Sb without preconcentration. An attractive sampling rate of 26 analyses h^?1 was obtained, suggesting application for routine analysis. The method was employed for the determination of Sb(III) and total Sb in bottled drinking water, and recovery values between 82.0 and 98.8% with relative standard deviation lower than 6.2% were observed, demonstrating appropriate accuracy and precision.     

Quantitative kinetic determination of Sb(V) and Sb(III) by spectrophotometric H-point standard addition method

The H-point standard addition method (HPSAM) was applied to kinetic data for simultaneous determination of Sb(V) and Sb(III) and also selectively determines Sb(V) in the presence of Sb(III). The method is based on the differences between rate of complexation of pyrogallol red with Sb(V) and Sb(III) at pH=2. Sb(V) can be determined in the range of 0.3-2.0 μg ml⁻¹ with satisfactory accuracy and precision in the presence of excess Sb(III). Good selectivity was obtained over the variety of metal ions. The proposed method was used for determination of Sb(V) and Sb(III) in river and spring water samples.     

Determination of arsenic(III), arsenic(V), antimony(III), antimony(V), selenium(IV) and selenium(VI) by extraction with ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate—methyl isobutyl ketone and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The solution conditions and other parameters affecting the ammonium pyrrolidine-dithiocarbamate—methyl isobutyl ketone extraction system for graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometric determination of As(III), As(V), Sb(III), Sb(V), Se(IV) and Se(VI) were studied in detail. The solution conditions for the single or simultaneous extraction of As(III), Sb(III) and Se(IV) were not critical. Arsenic(V) and Se(VI) were not extracted over the entire range of pH and acidity studied. Antimony(V) was extracted only in the acidity range 0.3—1.0 M HCl. Simultaneous extraction of total arsenic and total antimony was possible after reduction of As(V) with thiosulphate. Interference studies are also reported.     

The spectrophotometric determination of arsenic in sea water,potable water and effluents

Procedures are described for the determination of arsenic in sea water, potable waters and effluents. The sample is treated with sodium borohydride added at a controlled rate. The arsine evolved is absorbed in a solution of iodine and the resultant arsenate ion is determined photometrically by a molybdenum blue method. The time required for a complete analysis is about 90 min, but of this only 15 min is operator time. For sea water the range, standard deviation, and detection limit are 1–4 μgl^-1, 1.4 % and O.14 μg l^-1, respectively; for potable waters they are 0–800 μg l^-1, about 1 % (at 20μg l^-1 level) and 0.5μg l^-1, respectively. Silver and copper cause serious interference at levels of 0.5 mgl^-1, and nickel, cadmium and bismuth interfere at concentrations of a few tens of mg l^-1; however, these elements can be removed either by preliminary extraction with a solution of dithizone in chloroform or by ion exchange. Arsenic present in organo-arsenic compounds is not directly determinable, but can be rendered reactive either by photolysis with ultraviolet radiation or by oxidation with permanganate or nitric—sulphuric acid mixture. Arsenic(V) can be determined separately from total inorganic arsenic after extracting arsenic(III) as its pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate into chloroform.     

Simultaneous Determination of Antimony(III) and Molybdenum(VI) by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry Using Quercetin as Complexing Agent

A sensitive and selective voltammetric method for simultaneous determination of Sb(III) and Mo(VI) using Quercetin (Q) as complexing agent is described. Optimal conditions were found to be: pH 3.7, C_Q=6.0 µmol L^?1 and E_acc=?0.10 V. The LOD (3σ) for Sb(III) are 0.076 and 0.040 µg L^?1, whereas for Mo(VI) are 0.086 and 0.048 µg L^?1 with t_acc of 60 and 120 s, respectively. The method was validated using synthetic sea water (ASTM D665) and was applied to the determination of Sb(III) and Mo(VI) in natural waters with satisfactory results.     

Selective determination of trace arsenic and antimony species in natural waters by gas chromatography with a photoionization detector

Traces amounts of arsenic and antimony in water samples were determined by gas chromatography with a photoionization detector after liquidnitrogen cold trapping of their hydrides. The sample solution was treated with sodium hydroborate (NaBH₄) under weak-acid conditions for arsenic(III) and antimony(III) determination, and under strong-acid conditions for arsenic(III+V) and antimony(III+V) determination. Large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water vapor obscured determination of arsine and stibine. Better separation from interference could be achieved by removing CO₂ and water vapor in two tubes containing sodium hydroxide pellets and calcium chloride, respectively. The detection limits of this method were 1.8 ng dm^?3 for arsenic and 9.4 ng dm^?3 for antimony in the case of 100-cm³ sample volumes. Therefore, it is suitable for determination of trace arsenic and antimony in natural waters.