Reverse flow-injection manifold for spectrofluorimetric determination of aluminum in drinking water

A simple reverse flow-injection (rFIA) manifold for the direct determination of aluminum in drinking water is proposed. This rapid and sensitive method is based on the formation of an Al(3+) complex with salicylaldehyde picolinoylhydrazone (SAPH), which shows a maximum blue-green fluorescence (lambda(ex)=384 nm, lambda(em)= 468 nm) at pH 5.4. Operative conditions both for batch and rFIA procedures were investigated including reagent concentration, buffer solutions, injection loop, reacting coil and wavelengths used for the fluorimetric detection. The tolerance limits of foreign ions have been also evaluated, before and after the addition of masking agents. The reverse flow-injection procedure allows determination of Al(3+) at ppb level (LOD: 1.9 mug l(-1)) within a working range of 5-30 mug l(-1). The proposed method was successfully employed for the determination of Al(3+) in several commercial drinking, soft drinking (as certified reference material), and tap water samples.     

Spectrophotometric determination of lithium ion using a water-soluble octabromoporphyrin in aqueous solution

A water-soluble porphyrin, (2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octabromo-5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin; H(2)obtpps(4-)) was synthesized and developed for the determination of lithium ion in aqueous solution. The octabromo groups lower the basicity of the porphyrin by their electron-withdrawing effect, and enable the porphyrin to react with the lithium ion in alkaline solution to form the lithium complex along with a shift of absorption maximum: lambda max/nm (logepsilon/mol(-1) dm(3) cm(-1)) of the lithium porphyrin are 490.5 nm (5.31) and 734 nm (4.36). Sodium and potassium ions did not react with the porphyrin. The equilibrium constant for the reaction Li(+)+Hobtpps(5-)right harpoon over left harpoon[Li(obtpps)](5-)+H(+) was found to be 10(-8.80) and the conditional formation constant of the [Li(obtpps)](5-) at pH 13 is 10(4.21). The above results were applied to the determination of lithium ion in aqueous solution. The interference from transition and heavy metal ions was masked by using N,N'-1,2-ethanediylbis[N(carboxylmethy)glycinato]magnesium(II) ([Mg(edta)](2-)) solution. Absorbance at 490 nm was measured against a blank solution. A calibration graph was linear over the range of 0.007-0.7 mug cm(-3) (1x10(-6)-1x10(-4) mol dm(-3)) of lithium(I) with a correlation factor of 0.967. Lithium ion less than ppm level was determined spectrophtometrically in aqueous solution. The proposed method was applied to the determination of lithium in human serum and sea water samples.     

Nonextractive spectrofluorimetric determination of aluminium in real, environmental and biological samples using chromotropic acid

An ultra-sensitive and highly selective nonextractive fluorimetric method is presented for the rapid determination of aluminium at nano-trace levels using chromotropic acid as a fluorimetric reagent [lambda(ex) = 360 nm and lambda(em) = 390 nm] in the pH range of 4.1-4.7. The fluorescence intensity of the metal chelate (2:3 complex) reaches a constant value within 1/2 hr and remains unchanged for over 48 hr. The fluorescence intensity aluminium concentration calibration curve is collinear between 1 and 300 ng/ml of Al. A constant fluorescence intensity is obtained over a wide range (1:50-1:1500) of Al:reagent molar concentrations. Large excesses of over 60 cations, anions and complexing agents (like tartrate, oxalate, phosphate, thio-urea, SCN(-), etc.) do not interfere in the Al determination. The developed method was successfully used in assaying aluminium in several standard reference materials (Al-bronze, brass, stainless steel) as well as in some environmental and biological samples. The method is very precise and accurate (S.D = +/-0.001 on 10 ng/ml; 11 determinations).     

Determination of ruthenium and osmium in each other's presence in chloride solutions by direct and third-order derivative spectrophotometry

Ruthenium and osmium (up to 20 mug Ru(Os) ml(-1)) can be determined in chloride solutions directly after absorption of RuO(4) and OsO(4) in hydrochloric acid. In 9 M HCl, RuO(4) and OsO(4) are quantitatively converted into RuCl(6)(2-) (lambda(max) = 480.0 nm, epsilon = 4.8 x 10(3) l mol(-1) cm(-1)) and OsCl(6)(2-) (lambda(max) = 334.8 nm, epsilon = 8.4 x 10(3) l mol(-1) cm(-1)) respectively. Osmium does not interfere with the determination of ruthenium in the form of the RuCl(6)(2-) complex by direct spectrophotometry. The absorbance of the obtained solution at lambda(max) = 480.0 nm corresponds only to the concentration of ruthenium. A derivative spectrophotometric method using numerical calculation of absorption spectra of the RuCl(6)(2-) and OsCl(6)(2-) complexes has been developed for the determination of osmium in a mixture with ruthenium. The interfering effect of ruthenium on the determination of osmium can be eliminated by measuring the value of a third-order derivative spectrum of the OsCl(6)(2-) complex at 350.0 nm ("zero-crossing point" of ruthenium). Simple and rapid determination of ruthenium and osmium in a calibration standard solution of the noble metals (Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt and Au) for plasma spectroscopy using the proposed methods has been achieved.     

Spectrophotometric determination of aluminium by morin

A direct spectrophotometric method for the determination of aluminium with morin has been developed. Morin reacts in slightly acidic 50% ethanolic media (0.0001-0.0015 M H(2)SO(4)) with Al to give a deep-yellow chelate which has an absorption maximum at 421 nm. The average molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity were found to be 5.3 x 10(3) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 5 ng of Al cm(-2), respectively. The reaction is instantaneous and absorbance remains stable for 48 h. The colour system obeys Beer's law from 10 ng ml(-1) to 5.0 mug ml(-1) of Al; the stoichiometric composition of the chelate is 2:3 (Al:morin). The interference from over 50 cations, anions and complexing agents has been studied at 0.1 mug ml(-1) of Al. The method was applied successfully to some certified reference material samples (alloys and steels), environmental waters (inland and surface), biological samples (human blood, urine and gallstone), soils and complex synthetic mixtures.     

Trace determination of zinc in standard alloys, environmental and pharmaceutical samples by fourth derivative spectrophotometry using 1-2-(thiazolylazo)-2-naphthol as reagent and ammonium tetraphenylborate supported on naphthalene as adsorbent

A highly sensitive, selective, economical and rapid method for the trace determination of zinc using fourth derivative spectrophotometry has been proposed with 1-2-(thiazolylazo)-2-naphthol (TAN) as an analytical reagent and ammonium tetraphenylborate (ATPB)-naphthalene as an adsorbent. Zn-TAN is quantitatively retained on ATPB naphthalene in the pH range 6.5-9.5. The calibration plot is linear in the concentration range 0.02-1.4 mug ml(-1) Zn of DMF solution. The sensitivity of the method as determined from the slope of the calibration plot is 2.640 (d(4)A/dlambda(4))/(mug ml(-1)). Nine replicate determinations of 5.0 mug of zinc in 5 ml of DMF give a mean signal height of 2.660 (peak to peak height between lambda(1)=597 nm and lambda(2)=585 nm) with a relative standard deviation of 1.1%. The various conditions have been optimized and the developed method has been used for the determination of zinc in standard alloys, environmental and pharmaceutical samples.     

Spectrophotometric determination of Fe(III) in alkaline solutions without neutralization

Spectrometric study on the complexation of Fe(III) with an organic reagent obtained by coupling 3-methyl-1-phenyl-5-pyrazolone with diazotized 3-hydroxy-4-amino-benzene sulphonic acid was carried out in alkaline solutions. A 1:2 Fe(III): reagent water soluble complex is formed. The optimum pH is 9.0-11.8. The maximum absorbance of the complex lies at lambda = 560 nm, where the absorbance of the reagent is low. The molar absorptivity is 9000 l.mole(-1).cm(-1) at pH = 11.6. The value of the stability constant determined at 20 +/- 1 degrees C, pH = 11.6 and lambda = 560 nm is 4 x 10(5)M. The Beer-Lambert law is followed for iron concentration in the 0.2-5.0 mug/ml range. The spectrophotometric method was tested on synthetic solutions and thus applied for determination of traces of Fe(III) in several samples of alkaline hydroxides and carbonates without the neutralization of the solutions.     

Preconcentration of trace copper with yeast for river water analysis

A sensitive and selective method has been introduced for the determination of ultra trace amounts of Ru(III) based on its catalytic effects on the oxidation of Brilliant green (BG) by sodium bromate. A flow injection method has been used with spectrophotometric detection. The method is based on measuring the decrease in absorbance of BG at lambda(max)=615 nm. The decrease in absorbance of BG is linear with the concentration range of 0.005-0.500 mug ml(-1) Ru(III). The limit of detection is 0.002 mug ml(-1). The influence of reagent concentration, manifold parameter and potential interference species has been investigated. The method was used for the determination of ruthenium in synthetic samples with satisfactory results.     

An ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC-fluorimetric system for ultratrace determination of aluminium with salicylaldehydebenzoylhydrazone

An ion-pair HPLC fluorimetric determination of Al(III) at trace level has been developed, with salicylaldehydebenzoylhydrazone (SAB) as a precolumn reagent. The highly fluorescent AlSAB chelate (lambda(ex) 390.8 nm, lambda(em) 458.1 nm) is separated on a LiChroCART RP-18 column with an eluent consisting of 3.1 x 10(-)m tetrabutylammonium bromide, 1 x 10(4)m disodium EDTA and 5 x 10(-3)m sodium acetate in aqueous 42% w/w acetonitrile solution. The detection limit for Al is 1.5nM (40 pg/ml) in a 100-mul injection. The spectrophotometric detection limit at 390 nm is 0.3 ng/ml for 0.005 full-scale absorbance range. The selectivity is excellent and the method is useful for routine quality-control applications, such as determination of Al in tap water and in alkali pellets (LiOH, NaOH and KOH).     

Spectrophotometric determination of vanadium in different oxidation states with pyrogallol

Determination of vanadium at low concentrations is easily performed with pyrogallol as a ligand which forms a bluish-violet complex with vanadium(III), (IV) or (V). The colour of the bluish-violet complex (lambda(max) = 580 nm) contrasts well with the colour of both pyrogallol and vanadium. The complexes are stable for several hours. Beer's law is obeyed over the range 0-14 mug/ml vanadium at pH 6. The apparent molar absorptivity at 580 nm is (7.75 +/- 0.25) x 10(3)1.mole(-1).cm(-1). The effects of diverse ions on the determination of vanadium have been fully studied. Only Mo(VI) and W(VI) interfere seriously. The method is selective, sensitive and can be applied to the determination of total vanadium in a variety of samples.     

Preconcentration of trace nickel with the ion pair of disodium 1-nitroso-2-naphthol-3,6-disulfonate and tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride on microcrystalline naphthalene or by the column method and determination by third derivative spectrophotometry

Nickel is quantitatively retained by disodium 1-nitroso-2-naphthol-3,6-disulfonate (nitroso-R salt) and tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride (TDBA(+)Cl(-)) on microcrystalline naphthalene in the pH range 5.4-12.1 from large volumes of aqueous solutions of various alloys and biological samples. After filtration, the solid mass consisting of the nickel complex and naphthalene was dissolved with 5 ml of dimethylformamide (DMF) and the metal was determined by third derivative spectrophotometry. Nickel complex can alternatively be quantitatively adsorbed on tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium-naphthalene adsorbent packed in a column and determined similarly. The detection limit is 10 ppb (signal to noise ratio 2) and the calibration curve is linear from 30 to 5.4x10(3) ppb in dimethylformamide solution with a correlation coefficient of 0.9997 by measuring the distance d(3)A/dlambda(3) between lambda(1) (537 nm) and lambda(2) (507 nm). Eight replicated determinations of 2.5 mug of nickel in 5 ml of dimethylformamide solution gave a mean intensity (peak-to-peak signal between lambda(1) and lambda(2)) of 0.339 with a relative standard deviation of +/-0.87%. The sensitivity of the method is 0.677 ml/mug found from the slope (d(3)A/dnm(3)) of the calibration curve. Various parameters such as the effect of pH, volume of aqueous phase and interference of a number of metal ions on the determination of nickel has been studied in detail to optimize the conditions for nickel determination in various alloys and biological samples.     

Ammonium tetraphenylborate-naphthalene adsorbent for the preconcentration and trace determination of iron in alloys and biological samples using 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol by third derivative spectrophotometry

A solid ion-pair material produced from ammonium tetraphenylborate on naphthalene (ATPB-naphthalene) provides a simple, rapid, economical and selective technique for preconcentrating iron from approximately 500 ml of aqueous solution of standard alloys and biological samples. Iron reacts with 2-(5-bromo-2-pryidlazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (5-Br-PADAP) to form a water-soluble cationic complex. When the aqueous solution of this cationic species in the pH range 3.2-8.5 is passed over the adsorbent ATPB-naphthalene at a flow rate of 1 ml min(-1), it is quantitatively retained on naphthalene as an uncharged ion-associated complex. The solid mass from the column was dissolved out with 5 ml of dimethylformamide (DMF) and iron is determined by third derivative spectrophotometry by measuring the signal d(3)A/ dlambda(3) between lambda(2)(773 nm) and lambda(3)(737 nm). The calibration curve is linear over the concentration range 0.10-25.0 mug of iron in 5 ml of DMF solution. Eight replicate determinations of 5 mug of iron gave a mean intensity (peak-to-peak signal between lambda(2) and lambda(3)) of 1.534 with a relative standard deviation of 0.90%. The sensitivity of the method is 0.307 (d(3)A/dnm(3) )/mug found from the slope of the calibration curve. The interference of a large number of anions and cations has been studied and the optimized conditions developed were utilized for the trace determination of iron in various standard alloys and biological samples.     

Highly specific spectrophotometric method for palladium(II) determination with 3-(5'-tetrazolylazo)-2,6-Diaminotoluene in the presence of chlorides. Kinetic and equilibrium study of reactions

3-(5'-tetrazolylazo)-2,6-Diaminotoluene (TEADAT, H(3)L(2+)) forms stable 1:1 and 1:2 (metal:ligand) pink-red complexes (lambda(max) 506 and 536 nm) with palladium(II). The apparent molar absorptivity of 1:2 complex is 5.2 x 10(4) 1.mol(-1). cm(-1) at 536 nm. Equilibrium constants beta*(nl) for reactions PdCl(2-)(4) + nH(3)L(2+) right harpoon over left harpoonright harpoon over left harpoon PdCl(4-n) (H(2)L)(2n-2)(n) + n Cl(-) + n H(+) were determined: logbeta*(1) = 4.09 +/- 0.05, logbeta*(2) = 8.40 +/- 0.02, corresponding stability conditional constants of PdCl(3)(H(2)L) and PdCl(2)(H(2)L)(2+)(2) were log beta(1) = 19.03, log beta(2) = 26.74. The formation of complexes was rather slow but could be speeded up considerably by the catalytic effect of trace amounts of thiocyanate. Constant absorbance values were thus reached in 2-5 min. A rapid, sensitive and highly specific method for the determination of palladium(II) at pH 1.42 in 0.25M NACl has been worked out with a detection limit of 0.54 mug. Interference of precious and common metal ions have been studied and the method has been applied for the determination of palladium in Pd asbestos, oakay alloys and various catalysts and for the determination of palladium in precious metals.     

Simultaneous determination of aluminium and beryllium by first-derivative synchronous solid-phase spectrofluorimetry

A method for the simultaneous determination of aluminium and beryllium in mixtures by first-deravative synchronous solid-phase spectrofluorimetry has been developed. Aluminium and beryllium reacted with morin to give fluorescent complexes, which were fixed on a dextran-type resin. The fluoresnce of the resin, packed in a 1-mm silica cell, was measured directly with a solid-surface attachment. The constant wavelength difference chosen to optimize the determination was Deltalambda = lambda(em) = 75 nm. Aluminium was measured at lambda(em)lambda = 445/520 nm and beryllium at lambda(em)lambda(em) = 430/505 nm. The range of application is between 0.5 and 5.0 ng/ml for both aluminium and beryllium. The accuracy and precision of the method are reported. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of aluminium and beryllium in synthetic mixtures and natural waters.     

Capillary electrophoretic determination of zinc dimethyldithiocarbamate (Ziram) and zinc ethylenebisdithiocarbamate (Zineb)

A simple and sensitive capillary electrophoretic method was developed for the separation and determination of Ziram and Zineb in boric acid buffer by direct UV absorbance detection at lambda=254 nm. The separation is dependent on pH and nature of the buffer. The detection limits (S/N=3) are 1.88x10(-6) mol/l (0.57 mug/ml) and 2.48x10(-6) mol/l (0.68 mug/ml) for Ziram and Zineb, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of wheat samples spiked with Ziram and Zineb.     

The simple and rapid spectrophotometric determination of trace chromium(VI) after preconcentration as its colored complex on chitin

Preconcentration method with collection of metal complexes on a chitin has been applied to the spectrophotometric determination of chromium(VI) in water. The chromium(VI) is collected as its 1,5-diphenylcarbazide(DPC) complex on a column of chitin in the presence of dodecyl sulfate as counter-ion. The Cr-DPC complex retained on the chitin is eluted with a methanol-1 M acetic acid mixture (7:3, v/v), and the absorbance of the eluent is measured at 541 nm. Beer's law is obeyed over the concentration range of 0.05-0.6 mug of chromium(VI) in 1 ml of the eluent. The apparent molar absorptivity is 3.5x10(4) dm(3) mol(-1) cm(-1). The tolerance limits for Fe(III) is low, i.e. ten times that of chromium(VI), but some metal ions and common inorganic anions do not interfere in concentration range of 100-10 000 times that of chromium(VI). The present method can be applied to the determination of chromium(VI) in natural water samples.     

High performance liquid chromatographic determination of aluminium in natural waters in the form of its lumogallion chelate

A high performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of ultra trace amount of aluminium in natural waters has been developed using lumogallion as a precolumn reagent for fluorimetric detection. The highly fluorescent Al-lumogallion chelate (lambda(ex) 500 nm, lambda(em) 574 nm) was separated on a LiChrosorb RP 18 column with an eluent containing 3:7 acetonitrile/0.02M potassium hydrogen phthalate buffer (pH 4.7) containing 10(-5)M lumogallion. The proposed system provides a simple, quick, selective and sensitive method for the determination of ultra-trace amount of aluminium in water samples. The detection limit defined as three times the standard deviation of the blank signal, was 0.05 mug/l. in water samples for 100 mul injection. The tolerance limits were 5 mg/l. for Fe(III) and F(-) and over 10 mg/l. for other foreign ions. The sensitivity of the method was independent of salinity. This method had been used for the direct determination of aluminium in both tap and coastal sea-waters without any preconcentration steps.     

A new selective chromogenic reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of thallium(I) and (III) and its separation using flotation and the solid-phase extraction on polyurethane foam.

A new sensitive chromogenic reagent, 9,10-phenanthaquinone monoethylthiosemicarbazone (PET), has been synthesized and used in the spectrophotometric determination of Tl(III). In HNO3, H2SO4 or H3PO4 acids, PET can react immediately at room temperature with Tl(III) to form a red 2:1 complex with a maximum absorption at 516 nm. The different analytical parameters affecting the extraction and determination processes have been examined. The calibration curve was found to be linear over the range 0.2-10 microg cm(-3) with a molar absorptivity of 2.2 x 10(4) dm3 mol(-1) cm(-1). Sandell's sensitivity was found to be 0.0093 microg cm(-2). No interference from macroamounts of foreign ions was detected, except for Pd(II). However, Pd(II) does not affect the determination process, because its complex with PET has its lambda(max) at 625 nm. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of Tl(I and III) in synthetic and natural samples after separation by flotation (in oleic acid/kerosene) and solid-phase extraction (on polyurethane foam) techniques. The two methods were found to be accurate and not subject to random error, but solid-phase extraction was preferred because it is cheap, simpler and there is no contamination risk coming from flotation reagents.     

Disulphides of dithiophosphinic acids as analytical reagents-I Extractive spectrophotometric determination of palladium with some bis(dialkylthiophosphoryl)- and bis(diarylthiophosphoryl)disulphides

The disulphides of dithiophosphinic acids (DS) with the general formula R(2)P(S)SSP(S)R(2), where R = C(2)H(5), C(3)H(7), C(5)H(11), C(6)H(5) (I-IV) form coloured complexes of 1:3 stoichiometry with Pd(II). The absorption maxima and molar absorptivities are: a lambda(I) = 302 nm, epsilon(I) = 2.04 x 10(4) 1.mole(-1).cm(-1); lambda(II) = 305 nm, epsilon(II) = 2.58 x 10(4); lambda(III) = 303 nm, epsilon(III) = 2.60 x 10(4); lambda(IV) = 315 nm, epsilon(IV) = 3.25 x 10(4). The reaction takes about 3 min at room temperature, and the colour is stable for 24 hr. The influence of time, pH, reagent concentration, organic solvents and interferences have been studied. An extractive photometric method of determination of Pd(II) is described and applied to the determination of Pd(II) in a mixture of platinum metals.     

Preconcentration of 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol-iron(III)-capriquat on a membrane filter, and third-derivative spectrophotometric determination of iron(III)

Iron(III) was preconcentrated by collection on an organic solvent-soluble membrane filter (nitrocellulose (NC)) of the iron(III)-1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) complex in the presence of capriquat as an oily quaternary ammonium salt. Third-derivative spectrophotometry was used for measurement of the third-derivative distance (d(3)A/dlambda(3)) between lambda(1) = 520 nm and lambda(2) = 590 nm or lambda(3) = 660 nm and lambda(4) = 724 nm of the iron(III)-PAN-capriquat complex or PAN-capriquat in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) following preconcentration. The calibration curve was linear in the range of 1-10 mug iron(III)/5.0 ml DMSO solution. The proposed method was about five-fold more sensitive and more selective than using zero-order spectrophotometry.