Sequential oxidimetric determination of thallium(I) and (III)

The reaction between thallium(III) and oxalic acid in sulphuric acid medium has been investigated. Spectrophotometric results show that thallium(III) can be quantitatively reduced to thallium(I) with oxalic acid in aqueous medium when heated to near boiling point. Conditions for the estimation of the excess of oxalic acid with cerium(IV) sulphate in the presence of thallium(I) and for the estimation of a mixture of thallium(I) and thallium(III) have been investigated. The method is simpler than many other redox methods reported for the determination of thallium(III) and is free from many interferences encountered in these titrations. The reagents are cheap and quite stable.     

Extraction separation of thallium (III) from thallium (I) with n-octylaniline

A novel method is developed for the extraction separation of thallium(III) from salicylate medium with n-octylaniline dissolved in toluene as an extractant. The optimum conditions have been determined by making a critical study of weak acid concentration, extractant concentration, period of equilibration and effect of solvent on the equilibria. The thallium (III) from the pregnant organic phase is stripped with acetate buffer solution (pH 4.7) and determined complexometrically with EDTA. The method affords the sequential separation of thallium(III) from thallium(I) and also commonly associated metal ions such as Al(III), Ga(III), In(III), Fe(III), Bi(III), Sb(III) and Pb(II). It is used for analysis of synthetic mixtures of associated metal ions and alloys. The method is highly selective, simple and reproducible. The reaction takes place at room temperature and requires 15-20 min for extraction and determination of thallium(III).     

Photochemical reduction of thallium(III) with hydrogen peroxide

A convenient method for determination of thallium(III) is based on photochemical reduction with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of bromide as catalyst, followed by oxidation of thallium(I) with potassium bromate.     

Thallimetric oxidations-V Titrimetric and spectrophotometric determination of hydrogen peroxide

Titrimetric and spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of hydrogen peroxide at mmole and mumole levels respectively. In these methods thallium(III) is used as the oxidant and the reduced thallium(I) is determined oxidimetrically with potassium bromate in the titrimetric method and by measuring the absorbance of thallium(III) at 260 nm in the presence of 0.1M hydrochloric acid and 1M perchloric acid in the spectrophotometric method. Photochemical redox methods for the estimation of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a number of diverse ions are described.     

Speciation analysis of thallium using electrothermal AAS following on-line pre-concentration in a microcolumn filled with multiwalled carbon nanotubes

The enrichment ability of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was investigated and a new method established for the determination of trace thallium species in environmental samples using electrothermal atomization-atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). The CNTs were employed as sorbent substrate in a continuous flow system coupled to ETAAS. Parameters influencing the recoveries of thallium were optimized. Under optimal conditions, the detection limit and precision of the method were 0.009 µg L^?1 and 3.9%, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of thallium in real environmental samples and the recoveries were in the range from 96 to 100%. This system was able to separate thallium (I) from the matrix, which allowed its selective determination. The total thallium content was then determined by reducing Tl(III) with hydroxylamine. All these experimental results indicated that this new procedure can be applied to the determination of trace thallium in drinking water samples.     

Selective preconcentration of thallium species as chloro and iodo complexes on Chromosorb 105 resin prior to electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A selective preconcentration method was described for the determination of inorganic thallium species by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). Thallium(III) and thallium(I) as chloro and iodo complexes were selectively retained by a column containing 0.5 g of Chromosorb 105 resin and quantitatively eluted by 10 mL of pure acetone. The calibration graph was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.997 at levels near the detection limit and up to at least 0.8 μg L⁻¹. The detection limits for the determination of total thallium and thallium(III) employing the proposed method by ETAAS were estimated as three values of the standard deviations, 0.050 μg L⁻¹ and 0.034 μg L⁻¹, respectively. Verification of the accuracy was carried out by the analysis of standard reference materials (GBW 07402 soil, NIST 2710 Montana soil, GBW 07309 and GBW 07310 stream sediments). The relative errors were found to be in the range of −7.7% to +4.8%. The relative standard deviations were generally found to be below 10%. The effect of potential interfering ions on the determination was studied. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of total thallium in five different brand cements, soils around two cement plants and metallic zinc samples. The speciation of thallium(I) and thallium(III) was applied to synthetic solutions.     

Flow injection fluorimetric determination of thiourea

A flow injection configuration for the fluorimetric determination of thiourea is proposed. The procedure is based on the rapid oxidation of thiourea by thallium(III) with concomitant formation of fluorescent thallium(I). Linear calibration graphs were obtained between 5 x 10(-7) and 1 x 10(-5)M, with a sampling rate of 90 samples/hr. The usefulness of the method was tested in the determination of thiourea in fruit juices and fruit peels.     

Spectrophotometric determination of thallium after its extraction as an ion-pair of the chloro-complex and pyronine G

A sensitive and selective procedure for the spectrophotometric determination of thallium is described. The method is based on the formation of an ion-pair between [TlCl(4)](-) and the pyronine G cation in chloride-containing acid media. The ion-pair is extracted into benzene and permits the determination of as low as 0.3 mug of thallium in a final volume of 25 ml at 530 nm. The system obeys Beer's law in the concentration range 1-14 mug of thallium in a final volume of 25 ml. Potassium iodate was found to be highly effective for the oxidation of Tl(I) to Tl(III) and the presence of excess oxidant does not interfere. The method can be used for the determination of thallium in high purity cadmium, cadmium sponge and rock samples.     

Effects of some surface-active substances on polarographic waves of thallium(I), lead(II), antimony(III) and uranium(VI) in acetate medium: Determination of Thallium with Electrochemical Masking by Dioctyl Sulphosuccinate

The effects of some surface-active substances on the polarographic waves of Tl(I), Pb(II), Sb(III) and U(VI) in an acetate medium are described. The shifts observed in half-wave potentials offer several possibilities for the selective polarographic determination of these species. A method for the determination of thallium(I) in the presence of large amounts of Sb(III) and U(VI) and commensurate amounts of Pb(II). with dioctyl sulpho-succinate, is proposed.     

Flow injection determination of hydrazine with fluorimetric detection

A spectrophotometric flow injection system is described for the determination of hydrazine, involving oxidation of hydrazine by thallium(III) with concomitant formation of thallium(I). The optimum analytical conditions have been established. The linear range for hydrazine is 25-500 ng ml(-1) with a detection limit of 20 ng ml(-1). The sampling frequency is 40+/-5 samples h(-1). The relative standard deviation for 100, 250 and 500 ng ml(-1) is 3.5, 2.6 and 1.8%, respectively. The method has been applied to the determination of hydrazine in water.     

Studies on spectrophotometric methods of thallium determination

Eight sensitive methods of spectrophotometric determination of thallium have been studied and compared experimentally. The comparative criteria were: molar absorptivity, colour contrast of the basic reaction, working concentration interval and practical determination limit for thallium, precision of the method (the standard deviation), and selectivity. According to these criteria the best methods of extraction-spectrophotometric determination of thallium are those using Brilliant Green, Crystal Violet, Methyl Violet and Rhodamine B. The sensitivity depends very much on the oxidant used for conversion of Tl(I) into Tl(III). The oxidants suitable for each of the recommended methods are discussed.     

Determination of thallium(I) in solutions containing cations interfering in potentiometric ion-pair formation-based titrations

The possibility of the use of simple potentiometric coated-wire sensors in the analysis of mixtures of ions, the determination of which is based on the ion-pairing principle, was studied. Attention was especially paid on the determination of thallium(I) in the presence of alkali metal ions, mercury(II), copper(II) and silver(I). It was found that thallium(I) can selectively be titrated with sodium tetraphenylborate in diluted solutions. Interferences of ions of the alkali metals are practically negligible if their concentrations are lower than 10(-3) mol dm(-3). Interference of Cu(II) is minimized using EDTA as a masking agent, Hg(II) and Ag(I) ions are sufficiently screened by additions of sodium cyanide. In mixtures containing higher concentrations of alkali metals, thallium(I) can be oxidized to thallium(III) and selectively titrated as TlCl(-)(4) with a cationic titrant.     

Thallimetric oxidations-VI Titrimetric and spectrophotometric methods for the determination of phosphite and analysis of binary mixtures of phosphite and oxalate

Titrimetric and spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the estimation of phosphite at mmole and mumole levels, respectively. Thallium(III) is used as an oxidant and the thallium(I) produced is determined either oxidimetrically with potassium bromate or by measurement of the absorbance of thallium(III) at 260 nm in the presence of 0.1 M hydrochloric acid and 1 M perchloric acid. Based on the fact that phosphite and oxalate are oxidized under different conditions, methods are described for the analysis of binary mixtures of phosphite and oxalate. A method is also described for estimation of thallium(III) with phosphite as reluctant, and is applied for analysis of mixtures of thallium(I) and thallium(III).     

Spectrofluorimetric flow injection method for the individual and successive determination of L-cysteine and L-cystine in pharmaceutical and urine samples.

A flow injection configuration is proposed for the determination of L-cysteine and L-cystine individually and for mixtures of both analytes. The procedure is based on the rapid oxidation of L-cysteine by thallium(III) with concomitant formation of fluorescent thallium(I). The inclusion of a selecting valve and of a copper-coated cadmium column in the configuration allows the successive determination of two analytes. Linear calibration graphs were obtained between 5 x 10(-6) and 5 x 10(-5) mol dm-3 of L-cysteine and between 2 x 10(-6) and 2 x 10(-5) mol dm-3 of L-cystine. The applicability of the method to the determination of L-cysteine and L-cystine in pharmaceutical preparations was demonstrated by investigating the effect of potential interferents and by the analysis of commercial preparations. The method was successfully applied to the determination of L-cysteine and L-cystine in urine samples.     

Spectrofluorometric determination of thallium(III) with pyrogallol red and 3,4,5,6-tetrachlorofluorescein

Summary A spectrofluorophotometric determination of thallium(III) is proposed. It is based on the enhancement of the fluorescence reaction of 3,4,5,6-tetrachlorofluorescein (TCF) with Pyrogallol Red (PR) by thallium(III) in the presence of Swanol (AM 301, lauryldimethyl aminoacetic acid betain) as an amphoteric surfactant. The method was found to be suitable for the determination of thallium(III) down to 4.0 g in 10.0 ml by measuring the difference in the relative fluorescence intensities of a TCF/PR/thallium(III) solution and a TCF/PR solution. The recovery test in artificial urine was satisfactory (96±2%).     

Thermometric titrations at elevated temperatures

The oxidizing power of hexacyanoferrate(III) in alkaline conditions is wellknown. Unfortunately many if its oxidation reactions are too slow at room temperatures for direct titrimetric procedures. A method has been developed for the determination of millimolar amounts of selenium(IV), arsenic(III), antimony(III), chromium(III), and thallium(I) using thermometric titrimetry at approximately 330 K. The reproducibility and accuracy of the method are approximately 1%.     

Determination of hydrogen peroxide by thallium(III) in the presence of iron(II)

A method for estimating hydrogen peroxide by oxidation with excess of thallium(III) in the presence of iron(II) and iodometric determination of excess of thallium(III) is described. Nitrate, sulphate, manganese(II) and copper(II) have no effect. Chloride interferes.     

Photochemical thallimetric oxidations-estimation of formic acid

A simple, rapid and convenient redox method has been developed for the estimation of formic acid. Formic acid is photochemically oxidized with thallium(III) in the presence of bromide as catalyst, and the thallium(I) formed is determined by titration with potassium bromate. The procedure can also be used for the estimation of thallium(III) with formic acid as reductant.     

Application of polyethylene glycol for "electrochemical masking" in direct-current polarography

The use of polyethylene glycols (PEG) of molecular weight from 200 to 15,000 for electrochemical masking has been investigated. A pH-4.4 tartrate buffer was found to be the most suitable supporting electrolyte, and 0.1% the optimum PEG concentration. PEGs of m.w. below 600 had little effect on the waves examined, and are useless for electrochemical masking. Under the conditions chosen, the waves of Bi(III), Sb(III) and In(III) are completely suppressed; the Cd(II) and Pb(II) waves are shifted to more negative potentials, and the Tl(I) wave is scarcely affected by PEGs. The Cu(II) wave behaves differently from the others. A method is proposed for the determination of lead and/or thallium in the presence of up to 5000-fold w/w ratios of bismuth, antimony or indium. The determination of both lead and thallium is only possible when the amounts are not too different, as the waves are quite close. Copper(II) interferes.     

Indirect Speciation Analysis of Thallium in Plant Extracts by Anodic Stripping Voltammetry

A sensitive voltammetric method (DPASV) was developed for the determination of Tl(I) and Tl(III) in plant extracts. To limit the influence of the organic matrix on the measurements, UV irradiation and addition of Amberlite XAD‐7 resin was studied. The application of 0.5 g of the resin allowed defining thallium speciation in 10.0 mL of a solution containing 0.20 mL of Sinapis alba extract. The quantification limit of 0.5 ng mL^?1 Tl(I) was found for only 10 min of preconcentration, and is low enough to allow dilution of the sample before thallium determination. The procedure was validated using the recovery study and intermethod comparison with HPLC ICP MS.