Spectrophotometric catalytic determination of Fe(III) in estuarine waters using a flow-batch system

A flow-batch system was developed for the determination of Fe(III) in estuarine waters with high variability in salinity. The method is based on the catalytic effect of iron(III) on the oxidation rate of N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediammonium dichloride (DmPD) by hydrogen peroxide and the formed product is spectrophotometrically monitored at 554 nm. A controlled addition of sodium chloride to every assayed sample is accomplished for in-line individual salinity matching.The proposed system processes about 30 samples h⁻¹ and yields reproducible results. Relative standard deviations were estimated as <1.5% after 10 injections of typical samples (10.0-50.0 μg l⁻¹ Fe; ca. 0.5 mol l⁻¹ Cl). Synthetic samples (15.0 μg l⁻¹ Fe; 0.25-1.0 mol l⁻¹ NaCl) were efficiently processed, and no significant differences in results were found at a probability level of 99.7%. The method works for the full range of salinities. Only 120 μg DmPD are consumed per determination. The analytical curve is linear up to about 60 μg l⁻¹ Fe (r>0.999; n=5) and the detection limit is 5 μg l⁻¹ Fe. Results are in agreement with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry.     

Highly sensitive catalytic determination of molybdenum

A novel, highly sensitive, selective, and simple kinetic method was developed for the determination of Mo(VI) based on its catalytic effect on the oxidation of 1-amino-2-naphthol-4-sulfonic acid (ANSA) with H₂O₂. The reaction was followed spectrophotometrically by tracing the oxidized product at 465 nm after 30 min of mixing the reagents. The optimum reaction conditions were: 10 mmol l⁻¹ ANSA, 50 mmol l⁻¹ H₂O₂, 100 mmol l⁻¹ acetate buffer of pH 5.0 ± 0.05 and at 40 °C. Addition of 200 μg ml⁻¹ diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) conferred high selectivity for the proposed method. Following the recommended procedure, Mo(VI) could be determined with a linear calibration graph up to 2.5 ng ml⁻¹ and a detection limit, based on the 3S_b-criterion, of 0.027 ng ml⁻¹. The unique sensitivity and selectivity of the implemented method allowed its direct application to the determination of Mo(VI) in natural and industrial waste water. The method was validated by comparison with the standard ETAAS method. Moreover, published catalytic-spectrophotometric methods for the determination of molybdenum were reviewed.     

Liquid-liquid extraction procedure exploiting multicommutation in flow system for the determination of molybdenum in plants

A liquid-liquid extraction flow analysis procedure for the spectrophotometric determination of molybdenum in plants at μg l⁻¹ level is described. The flow network comprised a set of solenoid valves assembled to implement the multicommutation approach under microcomputer control. Radiation source (LED, 475 nm), detector (photodiode) and separation chamber were nested together with the flow cell comprising a compact unit. The consumption of reagents (potassium thiocyanate and stannous chloride) and also extracting solvent (isoamyl alcohol) were optimized to 32 mg and 200 μl per determination, respectively. Accuracy was assessed by comparing results with those obtained with ICP-OES and no significant difference at 95% confidence level was observed. Other favorable characteristics such as a linear response ranging from 25 to 150 μg l⁻¹ molybdenum (r=0.999); detection limit of 4.6 μg l⁻¹ sample throughput of 25 determinations per hour and relative standard deviation of 2.5% (n=10) were also achieved.     

Catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry determination of ultra trace amount of molybdenum using factorial design for optimization

A highly sensitive procedure is presented for the determination of ultra-trace concentration of molybdenum by catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry. The method is based on adsorptive accumulation of the molybdenum (Mo)-pyrocatechol violet (PCV) complex on to a hanging mercury drop electrode, followed by reduction of the adsorbed species by voltammetric scan using differential pulse modulation. The reduction current is enhanced catalytically by chlorate. The influence of variables was completely studied by factorial design analysis. Optimum analytical conditions for the determination of molybdenum were established. Molybdenum can be determined in the range 1.0 × 10⁻³-100.0 ng ml⁻¹ with a limit of detection of 0.2 pg ml⁻¹. The influence of potential interfering ions on the determination of molybdenum was studied. The procedure was applied to the determination of molybdenum in mineral water and some analytical grade substances with satisfactory results.     

Catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry versus electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry in the determination of trace cobalt and chromium in human urine

Two methods of the determination of cobalt and chromium in human urine of non-occupationally exposed populations—highly sensitive catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry (CAdSV) and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET-AAS)—are evaluated and compared. The CAdSV methods are based on adsorptive accumulation of a cobalt-nioxime (1,2-cyclohexanedione dioxime) or a chromium-DTPA (diethylenetriammine-N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentaacetic acid) complexes on a hanging mercury drop electrode, followed by a stripping voltammetric measurement of the catalytic reduction current of the adsorbed complex in the presence of sodium nitrite in case of cobalt or in the presence of sodium nitrate in case of chromium determination. In the CAdSV procedure UV-photolysis was used for the sample pre-treatment; the ET-AAS determination did not require any separate preliminary decomposition of the analyte urine samples. The accuracy of the procedures was checked by the analysis of commercially available quality control urine samples. The detection limits (3σ) were 0.13 μg l⁻¹ for Co and 0.18 μg l⁻¹ for Cr in ET-AAS determination and 0.007 μg l⁻¹ for Co and 0.002 μg l⁻¹ for Cr in CAdSV measurements. Precision (R.S.D.) was less than 5% for both methods. The study has shown that the CAdSV is a more reliable and sensitive technique for the determination of very low cobalt and chromium contents in urine, the detection of which is not possible when using the AAS technique.     

Flow-injection catalytic spectrophotometic determination of molybdenum(VI) in plants using bromate oxidative coupling of p-hydrazinobensenesulfonic acid with N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine

A novel flow-injection spectrophotometry has been developed for the determination of molybdenum(VI) at nanograms per milliliter levels. The method is based on the catalytic effect of molybdenum(VI) on the bromate oxidative coupling of p-hydrazinobenzenesulfonic acid with N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine to form an azo dye (λ_max = 530 nm). Chromotropic acid (4,5-dihydroxy-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonic acid) acted as an effective activator for the molybdenum(VI)-catalyzed reaction and increased the sensitivity of the method. The reaction was monitored by measuring the change in absorbance of the dye produced. The proposed method allowed the determination of molybdenum(VI) in the range 1.0-20 ng mL⁻¹ with sample throughput of 15 h⁻¹. The limit of detection was 0.5 ng mL⁻¹ and a relative standard deviation for 10 ng mL⁻¹ molybdenum(VI) (n = 10) was 2.5%. The interfering ions were eliminated by using the combination of a masking agent and on-line minicolumn packed with cation exchanger. The present method was successfully applied to the determination of molybdenum(VI) in plant foodstuffs.     

A novel method of the separation/preconcentration and determination of trace molybdenum(VI) in water samples using microcrystalline triphenylmethane loaded with salicyl fluorone

It is the first time that triphenylmethane was used as an adsorbent to preconcentrate and separate trace amount of molybdenum in water samples. The effects of different parameters, such as acidity, stirring time and various metal ions, the amounts of triphenylmethane and salicyl fluorine, etc. on the enrichment yield of molybdenum have been studied to optimize the experimental conditions. Under the optimum conditions, molybdenum can be adsorbed on the surface of microcrystalline triphenylmethane loaded with salicyl fluorone by the intermolecular action strength. The possible reaction mechanism for the enrichment of molybdenum was discussed in detail in this paper. Mo(VI) can be completely separated from Pb(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Cr(III), Ni(II), Hg(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), Fe(III) and Al(III) in the solution. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of trace amount of molybdenum in various water samples by spectrophotometry after preconcentration using microcrystalline triphenylmethane. The preconcentration factor is from 83 (500 ml water sample was enriched to 6.0 ml) to 166 (1000 ml water sample was enriched to 6.0 ml). The detection limit is 1.3 × 10⁻⁵ mg l⁻¹ and the linearity is maintained in the concentration range 3.8 × 10⁻³ to 0.36 mg l⁻¹ with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998. The recoveries are in the range of 93.5-104%. The relative standard deviation is 1.8-2.9%. Analytical results obtained with this novel method are very satisfactory.     

Speciation of dissolved Fe(II) and Fe(III) in environmental water samples by micro-column packed with N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine loaded on microcrystalline naphthalene and determination by electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry

A novel solid phase extraction technique for the speciation of trace dissolved Fe(II) and Fe(III) in environmental water samples was developed by coupling micro-column packed with N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine (BPHA) loaded on microcrystalline naphthalene to electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ETV-ICP-OES). Various influencing factors on the separation and preconcentration of Fe(II) and Fe(III), such as the acidity of the aqueous solution, sample flow rate and volume, have been investigated systematically, and the optimized operation conditions were established. At pH 3.0 Fe(III) could be selectively retained by micro-column (20 mm × 1.4 mm, i.d.) packed with BPHA immobilized on microcrystalline naphthalene, and Fe(II) passed through the micro-column. Both Fe(II) and Fe(III) could be adsorbed by the micro-column at pH 6.5. Thus, the total Fe could be determined without the need for preoxidation of Fe(II) to Fe(III). The retained Fe(III) or the Fe(II) and Fe(III) was subsequently eluted by 0.1 ml of 1 mol l⁻¹ HCl. The adsorption capacity of the solid phase adsorption material was found to be 45.0 mg g⁻¹ for Fe(III) at pH 3.0 and 65.3 mg g⁻¹ for Fe(II) at pH 6.5, respectively. The detection limit (3σ) of 0.053 μg l⁻¹ was obtained with a practical enrichment factor of 156 at a sample volume of 17 ml. The relative standard deviations of 4.2% and 4.6% (C_Fe(III) = C_Fe(II) = 10 μg l⁻¹, n = 7) for Fe(III) and total iron were found, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of trace Fe(II) and Fe(III) in environmental water samples (East Lake water, local tap water and mineral water). In order to validate the method, the developed method was applied to the determination of total iron in certified materials of NIES NO.10-b rice flour and GBW07605 tea leaves, and the results obtained were in good agreement with the certified values.     

Spectrophotometric determination of tungsten based on molybdotungsten isopolyanions in presence of non-ionic surfactant

Simple and sensitive method was developed for the spectrophotometric determination of tungsten. The method was based on the formation of the colour associate of molybdotungsten isopolyanion (IPA) with organic dye malachite green and solubilization in the solution of non-ionic surface-active substance (SAS). Recommended procedure permits tungsten determination in the linear range 10⁻⁶ to 10⁻⁵ mol l⁻¹ with ε=7.1×10⁴ mol⁻¹ l cm⁻¹. More than 100-fold excess of molybdenum do not interfere. The proposed method was applied to the determination of tungsten in cobalt-molybdenum catalyst and in stainless steel with satisfactory results.     

Adsorptive stripping voltammetric determination of trace concentrations of molybdenum at an in situ plated lead film electrode

An in situ plated lead film electrode has been applied for adsorptive stripping voltammetric determination of trace concentrations of molybdenum in the presence of Alizarin S. The procedure is based on the preconcentration of the molybdenum-Alizarin S complex at an in situ plated lead film electrode held at −0.6 V (versus Ag/AgCl), followed by a negatively sweeping square wave voltammetric scan. The peak current is proportional to the concentration of molybdenum over the range 2 × 10⁻⁹ to 5 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹, with a 3σ detection limit of 9 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol L⁻¹ with an accumulation time of 60 s. The measurements were carried out from underaerated solutions. The proposed procedure was validated in the course of Mo(VI) determination in water certified reference materials.     

Determination of hydrogen peroxide by using a flow injection system with immobilized peroxidase and long pathlength capillary spectrophotometry

The development of a highly sensitive method for the determination of nanomolar concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in the liquid phase is described. This paper demonstrates for the first time a flow injection analysis (FIA) system with immobilized enzyme reactor combined with a total internal reflective cell (a liquid waveguide capillary cell (LWCC)) and spectrophotometric detection, for the development of an improved procedure for the determination of hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, the newly synthesized 4-aminopyrazolone derivative, 4-amino-5-(p-aminophenyl)-1-methyl-2-phenyl-pyrazol-3-one (DAP), is used as a color coupler in its oxidative condensation with the sodium salt of N-ethyl-N-sulphopropylaniline sodium salt (ALPS) which acts as a hydrogen donor. Immobilization of peroxidase is achieved by coupling the periodate-treated enzyme to aminopropyl controlled-pore glass (CPG) beads. The determination of hydrogen peroxide is carried out in a 0.1 M phosphate buffer and the product is monitored at 590 nm with a charge-coupled device (CCD) detector equipped with fiber optics in a fully computerized system. The interference of different species, mainly ionic, was investigated.The method permits detection down to 4 nmol l⁻¹ hydrogen peroxide (signal-to-noise ratio=3). A linear calibration graph was obtained over the range 20-700 nmol l⁻¹. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) at 300 nmol l⁻¹ H₂O₂ is 1.7% (n=7). The method was successfully applied for the determination of hydrogen peroxide in samples from a vat-cleaning process.     

Simultaneous determination of fluorophores with overlapped spectra by sequential injection analysis coupled to variable angle scanning fluorescence spectrometry and multivariate linear regression algorithms

An automated and versatile sequential injection spectrofluorimetric procedure for the simultaneous determination of multicomponent mixtures in micellar medium without prior separation processes is reported. The methodology is based upon the segmentation of a sample slug between two different buffer zones in order to attain both an improvement of sensitivity and residual minimization for the whole species. Resolution of overlapping fluorescence profiles is achieved using a variable angle scanning technique coupled to multivariate least-squares regression (MLR) algorithms at both sample edges.The potentialities of the described methodology are illustrated with the spectrofluorimetric determination of four widespread pesticides with different acid-base properties; viz. carbaryl (CBL) (1-naphthyl-N-methylcarbamate), fuberidazole (FBZ) (2-(2′-furyl)benzimidazole), thiabendazole (TBZ) (2-(4′-thiazolyl)benzimidazole) and warfarin (W) (3-α-acetonylbenzyl)-4-hydroxycoumarin). Detection limits at the 3σ level were 3.9, 0.02, 0.03 and 10 μg l⁻¹ for CBL, FBZ, TBZ and W, respectively at the maximum sensitivity pH. Dynamic ranges of 13-720 μg l⁻¹ CBL, 0.10-14 μg l⁻¹ FBZ, 0.19-60 μg l⁻¹ TBZ and 0.05-5 mg l⁻¹ W were achieved. Relative standard deviations (n=10) were 0.2% for 100 μg l⁻¹ CBL and 2.4 μg l⁻¹ FBZ, 0.7% for 8 μg l⁻¹ TBZ and 1.0% for 1 mg l⁻¹ W. The proposed automated methodology, which handles 17 samples/h, was validated and applied to spiked real water samples with very satisfactory results.     

Determination of traces molybdenum by catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry

A reliable and very sensitive procedure for the determination of ultra trace of molybdenum is proposed. Molybdenum was determined by cathodic stripping differential pulse voltammetry based on the adsorption collection of the Mo(VI)-Tiron complex on a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). The variation of peak current with pH, concentration of Tiron and chlorate, plus several instrumental parameters such as accumulation time, accumulation potential and scan rate, were optimized. Under optimized condition, the relationship between the peak current and molybdenum concentration is linear in the range of 0.010-21.0 ng ml⁻¹. The limit of detection was found to be 0.006 ng ml⁻¹. The relative standard deviation for 10 replicates determination of 0.6 and 10 ng ml⁻¹ Mo(VI) is equal to 1.3 and 0.9%, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of molybdenum in river water, tap water, well water, plant foodstuff samples such as cucumber, tomato, carrot, and certified steel reference materials.     

Sulfonylcalix[4]arenetetrasulfonate as pre-column chelating reagent for selective determination of aluminum(III), iron(III), and titanium(IV) by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection

Sulfonylcalix[4]arenetetrasulfonate (SO₂CAS) has been examined as a pre-column chelating reagent for ultratrace determination of metal ions by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection. Metal ions were converted into the SO₂CAS chelates in an acetic buffer solution (pH 4.7). The chelates were injected onto a n-octadecylsilanized silica-type Chromolith™ Performance RP-18e column and were eluted using a methanol (50 wt.%)-water eluent (pH 5.6) containing tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (7.0 mmol kg⁻¹), acetate buffer (5.0 mmol kg⁻¹), and disodium ethylendiamine-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetate (0.10 mmol kg⁻¹). Under the conditions used, Al(III), Fe(III), and Ti(IV) were selectively detected among 21 kinds of metal ions [Al(III), Ba(II), Be(II), Ca(II), Cd(II), Co(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), Fe(III), Ga(III), Hf(IV), In(III), Mg(II), Mn(II), Mo(VI), Ni(II), Pb(II), Ti(IV), V(V), Zn(II), and Zr(IV)]. The detection limits on a 3σ blank basis were 8.8 nmol dm⁻³ (0.24 ng cm⁻³) for Al(III), 7.6 nmol dm⁻³ (0.42 ng cm⁻³) for Fe(III), and 17 nmol dm⁻³ (0.80 ng cm⁻³) for Ti(IV). The practical applicability of the proposed method was checked using river and tap water samples.     

Use of the molybdenum-thiocyanate-rhodamine 6G ternary complex for spectrophotometric molybdenum determination without extraction

A modified thiocyanate method without extraction by using rhodamine 6G as a secondary ligand was developed. Molybdenum in 1.0×10⁻² M HCl, after the addition of ascorbic acid, was heated for 10 min in a 90 °C water bath for reduction. Suitable amounts of glycerine, Triton X-100, rhodamine 6G solutions and 2+1 (v/v) 9 M H₂SO₄+3 M KHSO₄ were added in this order. This solution was allowed to cool to room temperature and the absorbance at 570 nm was measured against a reagent blank 45 min after the addition of thiocyanate solution and the second aliquot of Triton X-100 solution. The complex was stable for at least 4 h, the order of reagent addition was important, and thiocyanate should be in large excess. Beer’s law was obeyed over the range 0.9×10⁻⁶ to 1.1×10⁻⁵ M Mo with the molar absorptivity being 1.1×10⁵ l mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹. The R.S.D. for the determination of 0.7 mg Mo l⁻¹ was 1.83% (n=8). Possible interferences of various cations and anions on molybdenum determination were studied. The proposed method was applied to the determination of molybdenum in a dental alloy, Wiron 99.     

Sensitive and selective determination of molybdenum by flow injection chemiluminescence method combined with controlled potential electrolysis technique

A sensitive and selective flow injection chemiluminescence (CL) method combined with controlled potential electrolysis technique was described for the determination of molybdenum. The method is based on the chemiluminescence reaction of luminol with unstable molybdenum(III) in alkaline solution. The molybdenum(III) was on-line reduced from molybdenum(VI) via controlled potential electrolysis technique using a homemade flow-through carbon electrolytic cell at the potential of −0.6 V (versus Ag/AgCl). The method allows the determination of molybdenum in the 5.0×10⁻¹⁰ to 5.0×10⁻⁷ g ml⁻¹ range with a limit of detection (3σ) of 5×10⁻¹¹ g ml⁻¹ molybdenum. The relative standard deviation is 2.6% for the 1.0×10⁻⁹ g ml⁻¹ molybdenum solution in 11 repeated measurements. This method was successfully applied to the determination of molybdenum in water samples.     

Sequential injection lab-on-valve simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of copper and iron

A sequential injection (SI) method in a lab-on-valve (LOV) format for simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of copper and iron has been devised. The detection chemistry is based on the complex formation of 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-[N-n-propyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl)amino]aniline (5-Br-PSAA) with copper(II) and/or iron(II) at pH 4.6. Copper(II) reacts with 5-Br-PSAA to form the complex which has an absorption maximum at 580 nm but iron(III) does not react. In the presence of a reducing agent only iron(II)-5-Br-PSAA complex is formed and detected at 558 nm. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the determinable ranges are 0.1-2 mg l⁻¹ for copper and 0.1-5 mg l⁻¹ for iron, respectively, with a sampling rate of 18 h⁻¹. The limits of detection are 50 μg l⁻¹ for copper and 25 μg l⁻¹ for iron. The relative standard deviations (n = 15) are 2% for 0.5 mg l⁻¹ copper and 1.8% for 0.5 mg l⁻¹ iron when determined in standard solutions. The recoveries range between 96 and 105% when determining 0.25-2 mg l⁻¹ of copper and 0.2-5 mg l⁻¹ of iron in artificial mixtures at copper/iron ratios of 1:10 to 5:1. The proposed SI-LOV method is successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of copper and iron in multi-element standard solution and in industrial wastewater samples.     

Application of adsorptive cathodic differential pulse stripping method for simultaneous determination of copper and molybdenum using pyrogallol red

A reliable and sensitive procedure for the simultaneous determination of trace levels of copper and molybdenum is proposed. The complexing of copper(II) and molybdenum(VI) with pyrogallol red (PGR) is analyzed by cathodic stripping differential pulse voltammetry based on the adsorption collection of the complexes onto a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). The effect of chemical and instrumental parameters on the sensitivity and selectivity were studied. Copper and molybdenum peaks potential were observed at about +0.13 and −0.22 V versus Ag/AgCl electrode, respectively. A standard addition method was utilized for the analysis of voltammogram data, under the optimum conditions and with accumulation time of 90 s. The measured peak current at about +0.14 and −0.22 V is proportional to the concentration of Cu(II) and Mo(VI) over the range of 2-70 and 0.8-80 ng ml⁻¹, respectively. The limit of detection are 0.3 and 0.1 ng ml⁻¹ for Cu(II) and Mo(VI), respectively. The capability of the method for the analysis of real samples was evaluated by determination of copper and molybdenum in river water, tap water and alloy. Atomic absorption spectrometry was applied as a reference method for determination of copper and molybdenum in water samples.     

A multisyringe sequential injection method for monitoring water in the energy cogeneration system of a municipal waste incinerator

Leading-edge urban solid waste ashing plants use burning heat energy to obtain electrical power. Water fed to their boilers for conversion into steam should be highly pure in order to minimize corrosion, scaling and similar phenomena, which can lead to malfunctioning and a reduced useful life but can be avoided by proper management and control of the water supply. In this work, we developed a multiparameter monitor based on multisyringe sequential injection for the sequential determination of up to eight important parameters, namely: pH, specific and acid conductivity, hydrazine, ammonium, phosphate, silicate and total iron.Acid conductivity was determined by passing the sample through a cation-exchange resin in order to retain ammonium ion and release protons. This parameter was deemed the most accurate indicator of dissolved solids in boiler water. Chemical parameters were determined spectrophotometrically: hydrazine by reaction with p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde, ammonium by the modified Berthelot reaction, iron with o-phenanthroline, and phosphate and silica by formation of a molybdoheteropoly blue dye in the presence of ascorbic acid as reductant. Use of the optimum chemical and physical operating conditions provided 3s_blank detection limits of 0.01 mg l⁻¹ N₂H₄, 0.13 mg l⁻¹ NH₄⁺, 0.04 mg l⁻¹ Fe, 0.03 mg l⁻¹ SiO₂ and 0.05 mg l⁻¹ PO₄³⁻, and relative standard deviations not greater than 2.5%. The methods integrated in the proposed monitor were successfully applied to real samples from the water-steam cycle at the Son Reus ashing plant in Palma de Mallorca (Spain).     

Determination of total and dissolved amount of iron in water samples using catalytic spectrophotometric flow injection analysis

A flow injection spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of dissolved and total amounts of iron in tap and natural water samples. The method for the determination of iron employs a sample acidification step in order to decompose iron hydroxide and iron-complexes into free iron, Fe(III) and Fe(II). The amounts of free iron were detected using a catalytic action of Fe(III) and Fe(II) on the oxidation of N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Increase in absorbance of oxidized product was detected spectrophotometrically at 514 nm. The proposed method allows 0.02 and 0.06 μg l⁻¹ of LOD and LOQ, respectively, with relative standard deviation (RSD) below 2%. The accuracy and the precision of the method were evaluated by the analysis of the standard reference material, river water. The developed method was successfully applied to real water samples.