Valency states of radioactive antimony in hydrochloric acid solutions. Preparation and stability of antimony tracer for radioanalytical use

Variations of¹²⁵Sb valency states in HCl solutions were investigated by the use of the N-benzoyl-N-phenyl-hydroxylamine (BPHA) extraction method.¹²⁵Sb(V) is completely reduced to Sb(III) by one hour refluxing in conc. HCl.¹²⁵Sb(III) is gradually oxidized to Sb(V) in solutions of low HCl concentrations by the effects of their own radiations. Natural light promotes such oxidation reactions. By utilizing such oxidation-reduction effects¹²⁵Sb(V) can be easily prepared from¹²⁵Sb(III) and also¹²⁵Sb(III) can be prepared by the reduction of Cl _aq ⁻ . Their valency states were stable on keeping them in brown-colored bottles at 6M HCl concentrations.     

Speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) by pH-control using three inorganic acids (hydrochloric, phosphoric and sulphuric)

Summary A method is described for the speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) using HG-AAS. The efficiency of stibine generation using different pH, from Sb(III) and Sb(V) solutions, was tested. At high pH-values Sb(V) is not reduced to form stibine, Sb(III) being selectively determined. The three acids HCl, H₂SO₄ and H₃PO₄ at controlled pH were used to generate stibine, H₃PO₄ being the most satisfactory for antimony speciation. The interference of Sb(V) was studied for the case of Sb(III) determination with stibine generation in H₃PO₄ medium (pH 1.81). The speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) is possible up to a ratio of 1:9.     

Extraction and separation of antimony(III) and (V) by a liquid cation-exchanger HDEHP

A systematic investigation was carried out on the extraction of Sb(III) and (V) with HDEHP from various acidic, neutral and alkaline solutions. Antimony(III) is best extracted from neutral or slightly acidic solutions, and the E values are nearly the same in the forward and backward extractions. Antimony(V) extraction is high only from concentrated HCl and HClO₄, and the E values are much larger in the backward direction. Extraction and separation of Sb(III) and (V) was studied as a function of acidity, alkalinity, anion and water-miscible organic additives in the aqueous phase, as well as the diluent used and HDEHP molarity. Separation factors obtained for Sb(III) and (V) were higher than when using isopropyl ether as solvent, which was hitherto used for this purpose.     

Speciation of antimony by preconcentration of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in water samples onto nanometer-size titanium dioxide and selective determination by flow injection-hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry.

A novel method for prevention of the oxidation of Sb(III) during sample pretreatment, preconcentration of Sb(III) and Sb(V) with nanometer size titanium dioxide (rutile) and speciation analysis of antimony, has been developed. Antimony(III) could be selectively determined by flow injection-hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry, coexisting with Sb(V). Trace Sb(III) and Sb(V) were all adsorbed onto 50 m g TiO2 from 500 ml solution at pH 3.0 within 15 min, then eluted by 10 ml of 5 mol/l HCl solution. One eluent was directly used for the analysis of Sb(III); to the other eluent was added 0.5 g KI and 0.2 g thiourea to reduce Sb(V) to Sb(III), then the mixture was used for the determination of total antimony. The antimony(V) content is the mathematical difference of the two concentrations. Detection limits (based on 3sigma of the blank determinations, n=11) of 0.05 ng/ml for Sb(III) and 0.06 ng/ml for Sb(V), were obtained.     

Determination of inorganic antimony species in seawater by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry: stability of the trivalent state

A simple method is described for the rapid and reliable determination of ultratrace concentrations of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in seawater by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. It is based on the well-known dependence of Sb(III)/Sb(V) voltammetric response on acidity conditions. Under our optimised conditions (0.5 mol l⁻¹ HCl for Sb(III) and 5 mol l⁻¹ HCl for total Sb, respectively): (i) a detection limit of 11 ng l⁻¹ is obtained for a 10 min deposition time; (ii) no prior elimination of organic matter is needed; and (iii) antimony can be determined in the presence of natural copper levels. Particular care has been taken in order to understand the chemical processes taking place in all the solutions and reactions involved in the sampling and measuring procedures. Our results revealed the need to consider (i) the effect of photooxydation of synthetic and seawater samples on Sb speciation; and (ii) the stability of Sb(III) both in seawater samples and in the analytical solutions.     

Spectrophotometric determination of Sb(III) in Sb(III)/Sb(V) binary mixtures using sodium dodecylsulfate/nonylphenoxy polyethoxyethanol mixed micellar media

Different micellar media had different effects on the absorption spectra of the complexes of bromopyrogallol red with Sb(III) and Sb(V). The mixed micellar medium composed of 0.7 ml of 0.2% sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and 0.3 ml of 2% nonylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (OP) at 80 degrees C could be used for the sensitive determination of Sb(III) in Sb(III)/Sb(V) binary mixtures. Under the optimal conditions, Beer's Law was obeyed over the range 0.1-2.3 mug ml(-1) Sb(III) with molar absorptivity at 538 nm being 4.8 x 10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and detection limit 0.04 mug ml(-1). For 10 mug Sb(III), more than 100 mug Sb(V) could be tolerated (error < 3%) in the presence of SDS/OP micellar medium as compared with 0.1 mug Sb(V) in the absence of SDS/OP micellar medium. In addition, the sensitivity of Sb(III) in the micellar medium was much higher than that in pure water medium. As compared with conventional extraction spectrometry, the proposed method produced a reproducible result. It did not need the conversion of Sb(III) to Sb(V) and a time-consuming extraction process. A detailed discussion on the selection of surfactants, the effect of temperature, and the role played by the mixed surfactants were also made.     

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.     

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.     

Anodic stripping voltammetry of antimony at unmodified carbon electrodes

Antimony is an element of significant environmental concern, yet has been neglected relative to other heavy metals in electroanalysis. As such very little research has been reported on the electroanalytical determination of antimony at unmodified carbon electrodes. In this paper we report the electrochemical determination of Sb(III) in HCl solutions using unmodified carbon substrates, with focus on non-classical carbon materials namely edge plane pyrolytic graphite (EPPG), boron doped diamond (BDD) and screen-printed electrodes (SPE). Using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry, EPPG was found to give a considerably greater response towards antimony than other unmodified carbon electrodes, allowing highly linear ranges in nanomolar concentrations and a detection limit of 3.9?nM in 0.25?M HCl. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the response from EPPG was 100 times greater than for glassy carbon (GC). Unmodified GC gave a comparable response to previous results using the bare substrate, and BDD gave an improved, yet still very high limit of detection of 320?nM compared to previous analysis using an iridium oxide modified BDD electrode. SPEs gave a very poor response to antimony, even at high concentrations, observing no linearity from standard additions, as well as a major interference from the ink intrinsic to the working electrode carbon material. Owing to its superior performance relative to other carbon electrodes, the EPPG electrode was subjected to further analytical testing with antimony. The response of the electrode for a 40?nM concentration of Sb(III) was reproducible with a mean peak current of 1.07?µA and variation of 8.4% (n?=?8). The effect of metals copper, bismuth and arsenic were investigated at the electrode, as they are common interferences for stripping analysis of antimony.     

Speciation analysis of inorganic Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions by using mini column filled with Amberlite XAD-8 resin

The speciation of inorganic Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions in aqueous solution was studied. The adsorption behavior of Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions were investigated as iodo and ammonium pyrollidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) complexes on a column filled with Amberlite XAD-8 resin. Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions were recovered quantitatively and simultaneously from a solution containing 0.8 M NaI and 0.2 M H₂SO₄ by the XAD-8 column. Sb(III) ions were also adsorbed quantitatively as an APDC complex, but the recovery of the Sb(V)-APDC complex was found to be <10% at pH 5. According to these data, the concentrations of total antimony as Sb(III)+Sb(V) ions and Sb(III) ion were determined with XAD-8/NaI+H₂SO₄ and XAD-8/APDC systems, respectively. The Sb(V) ion concentration was calculated by subtracting the Sb(III) concentration found with XAD-8/APDC system from the total antimony concentration found with XAD-8/NaI+H₂SO₄ system. The developed method was applied to determine Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions in samples of artificial seawater and wastewater.     

Simultaneous capillary electrophoretic determination of Sb(III) and Bi(III) based on the complex-formation with a W(VI)-P(V) reagent

A capillary electrophoretic method was developed for the simultaneous determination of Sb(III) and Bi(III). A 1.0 mM W(VI)-0.10 mM P(V) complexing reagent readily reacted with a mixture of trace amounts of Sb(III) and Bi(III) to form the corresponding ternary Keggin-type complexes; [P(Sb^IIIW₁₁)O₄₀]⁶⁻ and [P(Bi^IIIW₁₁)O₄₀]⁶⁻ in 0.01 M malonate buffer (pH 2.4). Since the peaks due to the migrations of the ternary complex anions were well separated in the electropherogram, the pre-column complex-formation reaction was applied to the simultaneous CE determination of Sb(III) and Bi(III) with direct UV detection at 255 nm. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 2×10⁻⁷-5×10⁻⁵ M; a detection limit of 1×10⁻⁷ M was achieved for Sb(III) or Bi(III) (the signal-to-noise ratio=3).     

Hollow fiber supported liquid membrane extraction coupled with thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry for the speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in environmental and biological samples

A new method of hollow fiber supported liquid membrane extraction (HF-SLME) coupled with thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (TS-FF-AAS) for the speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in environmental and biological samples has been developed. The method is based on the complex of Sb(III) with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC). The formed hydrophobic complex is subsequently extracted into the lumen of hollow fiber, whereas Sb(V) is remained in aqueous solutions. The extraction organic phase was injected into TS-FF-AAS for the determination of Sb(III). Total Sb concentration was determined after reduction of Sb(V) to Sb(III) in the presence of l-cysteine and the extraction procedure mentioned above. Sb(V) was calculated by subtracting of Sb(III) from the total Sb. DDTC was used as complexing reagent. 1-Octanol was immobilized in the pores of the polypropylene hollow fiber as liquid membrane and also used as the acceptor solution. Some parameters that influenced extraction and determination were evaluated in detail, such as concentration of sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC), type of organic solvent, pH of samples, stirring rates, extraction time, as well as interferences. Under optimized conditions, a detection limit of 0.8 ng mL⁻¹ and an enrichment factor of 160 were achieved. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 6.2% for Sb(III) (50 ng mL⁻¹, n = 5). The proposed method was successfully applied to the speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in environmental and biological samples with satisfactory results.     

Determination of antimony(III,V) in natural waters by separation and preconcentration on a thionalide loaded resin followed by neutron activation analysis

A chelating sorbent obtained by immobilization of thionalide on the macroporous resin Bio Beads SM-7 was used for speciation of antimony(III) and (V) in natural waters. Antimony(III) was separated from Sb(V) by sorption on a column with the sorbent at pH 5. Antimony(V) in the effluent was reduced to Sb(III) and preconcentrated by sorption on the sorbent from 0.5M HCl solution. Both the separated species were determined directly on the sorbent by neutron activation analysis.     

Speciation of antimony in injectable drugs used for leishmaniasis treatment (Glucantime?) by HPLC-ICP-MS and DPP

Meglumine antimonate is the active of Glucantime? used for the treatment of leishmaniasis, a tropical disease caused by parasitic protozoa, and it is estimated that 12 million people worldwide are affected. This drug mainly contains Sb(V) under the form of an organic complex with N-methylglucamine (NMG). During the synthesis of this molecule, traces of Sb(III) may be present, also probably complexed. Due to the fact that Sb(III) is considered more toxic than Sb(V), it is important to evaluate the Sb(III) concentration in the drug samples. In the literature, very different concentrations for residual concentrations of Sb(III) in the drug ampoules are found. Therefore, to have a true insight of antimony speciation, two independent analytical methods were developed in this work. We used an anion exchange method coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) which was cross-referenced with an electrochemistry method (differential pulse polarography (DPP)) that could be used for routine analysis on the production site. To obtain Sb species in detectable forms, the complexes between Sb species and NMG need to be broken. This was obtained by diluting samples in hydrochloric acid in deaerated conditions to avoid Sb redox reactions. For the two analytical methods, the HCl concentration was optimized to obtain simultaneously a complete destruction of the complexes as well as limited redox reactions for Sb(V) and Sb(III) released species. For high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-ICP-MS, a dilution with 5?M HCl gives the better results. The side reaction is an oxidation of Sb(III) which can be limited by the removal of oxygen. When DPP is used, the major problem is the reduction of Sb(V) which is present in high amount in the samples. Working with 0.6?M HCl allows this problem to be minimized. When applied to different lots of Glucantime?, Sb(III) concentration values are in good agreement for the two analytical methods, with, for HPLC-ICP-MS, the advantage of the simultaneous detection of both Sb redox species.     

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.     

Liquid-liquid extraction of arsenic(III), antimony(III) and bismuth(III) with potassium ethyl xanthate

Summary Methods are described for quantitative extraction of arsenic(III), antimony(III) and bismuth(III) with potassium ethyl xanthate-carbon tetrachloride. The optimum acidity conditions are 0.1–0.2 M hydrochloric acid for arsenic, 1.8–2.5 M hydrochloric acid for antimony and p_H 1.5–4.0 for bismuth. From the organic extracts arsenic and antimony are estimated by conventional iodometric methods while bismuth is determined spectrophotometrically at 400 nm. The effect of acidity, reagent concentration, period of extraction and diverse ions are discussed. The infra-red spectra are also described.

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Zusammenfassung Verfahren für die Extraktion von As(III), Sb(III) und Bi(III) mit Kaliumäthylxanthat/Tetrachlorkohlenstoff werden beschrieben. Die optimalen Aciditätsbedingungen sind: 0,1–0,2 M HCl für As, 1,8–2,5 M HCl für Sb und p_H 1,5–4,0 für Bi. As und Sb werden nach Entfernung des organischen Lösungsmittels jodometrisch bestimmt; Bi wird im gelb gefärbten Extrakt spektrophotometrisch bei 400 nm bestimmt. Der Einflu\ der Acidität, der Reagenskonzentration, der Schütteldauer und verschiedener Fremdionen auf die Extraktion wird besprochen. Die IR-Spektren der gebildeten Komplexe werden diskutiert.

     

Anion-exchange behaviour of some elements in HF−HCl medium

Distribution ratios for As(V), Fe(III), Sb(V), Sc, Sn(IV), Mo, W, Tc(VII) and Re(VII) in the system Dowex-1X8 and 0.1–11.5M HCl, and Dowex-1X8 and the mixture of HF and HCl with HF concentrations varying from 0.1M to 20M and HCl concentrations from 0.1 to 10M have been measured. The distribution ratios for mixed solutions are presented in form of adsorption contour plots. The connection between the possible composition of the adsorbable complexes and the character of the respective contour plots is discussed.     

Determination of Sb(V) Using Differential Pulse Anodic Stripping Voltammetry at an Unmodified Edge Plane Pyrolytic Graphite Electrode

Antimony(V) determination at an unmodified edge plane pyrolytic graphite (EPPG) electrode using anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) by depositing beyond the hydrogen wave is shown in this paper. By depositing beyond the hydrogen wave, we report a sensitive method to determine pentavalent antimony at a carbon electrode in 0.25 M HCl. Using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV), a bare EPPG electrode gave a detection limit of 5.8±0.02 nM without the need for surface modification. This level is greatly within the EU limit for drinking water of 40 nM.     

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.     

Atomic fluorescence spectrometric determination of trace amounts of arsenic and antimony in drinking water by continuous hydride generation

A highly sensitive and simple method has been developed for the determination of As(III), total As, Sb(III) and total Sb in drinking water samples by continuous hydride generation and atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HGAFS). For As determination, water samples aspirated in a carrier of 2 mol l(-1) HCl were merged with a reducing NaBH(4) 3%(m/v) solution, with sample and NaBH(4) flow rates of 12.5 and 1.5 ml min(-1) respectively. The hydride generated in a 170 cm reaction coil was transported to the detector with an Ar flow of 400 ml min(-1), and a limit of detection between 5 and 20 ng l(-1) was obtained. For Sb determination, 2.5 mol l(-1) HCl and 2%(m/v) NaBH(4) were employed, with respective flow rates of 9.7 and 2 ml min(-1). The hydride generated in a 50 cm reaction coil was transported to the detector with an Ar flow rate of 300 ml min(-1), and a limit of detection between 6 and 14 ng l(-1) was obtained. Determination of the total concentration of these elements was obtained after a previous reduction with KI. Recovery studies of different added concentrations of these species in natural water samples were between 93 and 104% for As(III), 96-103% for As(V), 93-101% for Sb(III) and 90-119% for Sb(V).