Malachite green as a reagent for detection and spectrophotometric determination of chromium(VI)

A sensitive and inexpensive method of spectrophotometric determination of chromium(VI), based on the absorbance of its complex with malachite green and acetic acid at pH 2.5 is reported. The complex shows a molar absorptivity of 8 x 10(4) l.mole(-1) cm(-1) at 560 nm, using malachite green and acetic acid as reference solution. The effect of time, temperature, pH and reagent concentration is studied and optimum operating conditions are established. Beer's law is applicable in the concentration range 2.0-22.8 mug/ml chromium(VI). The resin beads act as a catalyst and as little as 1.6 mug of chromium(VI) is detected in the resin phase as compared to 4.1 mug in the solution phase. The standard deviation in the determinations is +/-0.40 mug/ml for a 10.35 mug/ml solution.     

Determination of total chromium in phosphate rocks by ion chromatography

Chromium(VI) is one of seven elements which is classified in the fertilizer industry as being harmful to plants and biological systems. Phosphate rocks represent the raw material for complex fertilizer production in the world. This paper investigates for the first time the determination of total chromium in phosphate rocks by ion chromatography. The developed analytical method involves the digestion of phosphate rocks with nitric acid followed by sample treatment of the resulting solution. The digestion solution obtained was treated with an oxidising agent (potassium peroxosulphate) to convert all chromium to the hexavalent state. The analytical method developed utilizes anion-exchange ion chromatography to achieve the separation and spectrophotometric post-column reaction for detection with diphenylcarbazide. The relative standard of deviation from analytical data comparison of six different phosphate rocks with atomic absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry techniques, and cross-analysis data against an internationally certified phosphate rock standard were between 0.58 and 1.45%. Calibration curve between 0.2 and 0.9 μg/ml was excellent, and the method has a detection limit for Cr(VI) of 0.05 ng. The developed method offers a fast, a reliable and an alternative procedure for the determination of total chromium in phosphate rock deposits by ion chromatography.     

On the spectrophotometric flow injection determination of chromium(VI) in natural waters after on-line preconcentration on activated alumina

The feasibility of chromium(VI) preconcentration on to activated alumina in a continuous flow system with spectrophotometric detection was investigated. Chemical and flow variables, and the influence of concomitant species were studied both with and without preconcentration systems. The best results were obtained by using a 2.5 cm long, 1.6 mm i.d. alumina minicolumn, and selecting 1 x 10(-4) M nitric acid as the preconcentrating medium and 0.1 M ammonium hydroxide as the eluent. The eluted chromium(VI) was mixed with diphenylcarbazide in acidic medium and the absorbance of the colored complex was measured at 540 nm. Linear calibrations for 5, 25 and 50 ml sample volumes were established over the concentration ranges 10-50 mug 1(-1), 2-10 mug 1(-1) and 1-5 mug 1(-1) with sensitivity enhancements of 44, 196 and 392 and detection limits (3sigma) of 3.0 mug 1(-1), 0.3 mug 1(-1) and 0.2 mug 1(-1), respectively. The methods is relatively fast and cheap. Natural waters were analyzed with use of the developed procedure.     

Simultaneous determination of hexavalent and total chromium in water and plating baths by spectrophotometry

A new spectrophotometric determination method of hexavalent chromium in waste water and plating baths is described based on the oxidation of beryllon III by chromium(VI) in 0.02M sulphuric acid medium. The decrease in the absorbance of beryllon III was measured at 482 nm with an apparent molar absorptivity of 5.15 x 10(4)1.mole(-1).cm(-1). Beer's law was obeyed for chromium(VI) over the range 0-25 mug/25 ml. After the oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI) by ammonium persulphate, total chromium can be determined. Therefore, chromium(III) can be calculated by subtracting chromium(VI) from total chromium. The detection limit is 0.015 and 0.020 mug/25 ml for chromium(VI) and total chromium, respectively. A sensitive spectrophotometric method for trace Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in waste water and plating baths was developed with good precision and accuracy. The reaction is also discussed.     

Ion-pair chromatographic determination of chromium(VI)

Ion-pair chromatography (IPC) with conductometric detection was investigated as a precise and selective analytical method for the determination of chromium in electro-plating solutions and waste waters. Chromatographic parameters were optimized for separation of Cr(VI) and SO(2-)(4). The analytical column (100 x 6 mm) was packed with 10 mum silasorb C(18) (Czechoslovakia). Tetrabutylammonium butyrate (TBAB), at pH 7.0 in acetonitrile-water (18:82 v/v) mixture, was used as the eluent. Two samples of solution are taken for the analysis. In the first of them the amount of Cr(VI) is determined, in the second one Cr(III) is oxidized to Cr(VI) with H(2)O(2) in alkaline medium and the total amount of Cr is determined. From the difference of the two obtained results the concentration of Cr(III) is calculated. The detection limit of Cr(VI) is 0.1 mug/ml and the relative standard deviation (at the 1.0 mug/ml) is 4.0%. The IPC results for chromium agreed closely with these obtained by spectrophotometry.     

Chromium speciation by a surfactant-coated alumina microcolumn using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple and convenient method has been developed for the speciation of chromium(III) and chromium(VI) in aqueous solutions using a sodium dodecyl sulphate coated alumina micro-column (1.5 cm x 5 mm i.d.) and graphite furnace-atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS). Under the optimized conditions (pH 0.6, adjusted with hydrochloric acid; flow rate, 1 ml min(-1)) chromium(VI) is retained on the column and chromium(III) is collected and determined by GF-AAS. Total chromium is directly determined by GF-AAS and chromium(VI) is calculated by difference. The relative standard deviations (10 replicate analyses) at the 20 mug l(-1) level for chromium(III) and chromium(VI) and at the 40 mug l(-1) level for total chromium were 1.4%, 3.6% and 1.8%, and the corresponding limits of detection (based on 3sigma) were 0.57 mug ml(-1), 0.61 mug ml(-1) and 0.35 mug l(-1) respectively. No large interference effects have been observed from other investigated species and the method has been successfully applied to a range of water samples.     

Fluorimetric trace determination of cerium(III) with sodium triphosphate

Sodium triphosphate acts as a specific reagent for enhancing the fluorescence intensity of cerium(III). The purpose of this study was to investigate the spectrofluorimetric determination of trace amounts of Ce(III) in sodium triphosphate solution. The excitation and emission wavelengths are 303.5 nm and 353 nm respectively. Optimum sodium triphosphate concentration is found to be 0.074 g l(-1) at room temperature. The fluorescence varies linearly with the concentration of cerium(III) in the range 0.001-45 mug ml(-1). The detection limit is 9.4 x 10(-4)mug ml(-1). The relative standard deviations for 30 mug ml(-1) and 0.05 mug ml(-1) Ce(III) in 0.074 g l(-1) sodium triphosphate solution are 1.1% and 0.72% respectively. Quenching effects of other lanthanides and some inorganic anions are described. This method is a direct and rapid analytical method for the determination of Ce(III) in rare earth mixtures and cerium concentrates.     

Single-column ion-chromatographic determination of chromium(VI) in aqueous soil and sludge extracts

Single-column ion-chromatography (SCIC) was investigated as a routine, rapid, precise and selective analytical method for the determination of chromium(VI) in aqueous extracts of soil and sewage sludge. Chromatographic parameters were optimized for determination of Cr(VI), NO(-)(3) and SO(2-)(4). A low-capacity resin-based column was used for the separation and the anions were determined by conductometric detection. p-Hydroxybenzoic acid (5mM) at pH 8.5 was used as the eluent. The limit of detection, defined as S/N = 3, was 92 mug/l. The resolution between Cr(VI) and SO(2-)(4) was 2.8, the precision ranged from 0.9% for NO(-)(3) to 2.0% for Cr(VI) with a 500-mul injection. The SCIC results for Cr(VI) agreed closely with those obtained by inductively coupled argon-plasma emission and spectrophotometry.     

Determination of trace concentrations of hexavalent chromium

A simple and sensitive solvent extraction-atomic spectrometric technique has been developed for the determination of hexavalent chromium in fresh and saline waters. The technique is based on the reaction of chromium with diphenylcarbazide. The method has been tested on a variety of water samples over an analytical range of 0-2 microg l(-1). A limit of detection of 0.024 microg l(-1) was achieved. Spiking recoveries in the range 87-115% were achieved in river water, drinking water and marine waters.     

Rapid determination of chromium(VI) in electroplating waste water by use of a spectrophotometric flow injection system

A new rapid and sensitive FI method is reported for spectrophotometric determination of trace chromium(VI) in electroplating waste water. The method is based on the reaction of Cr(VI) with sodium diphenylamine sulfonate (DPH) in acidic medium to form a purple complex (lambda(max) = 550 nm). Under the optimized conditions, the calibration curve is linear in the range 0.04-3.8 microg ml(-1) at a sampling rate of 30 h(-1). The detection limit of the method is 0.0217 microg ml(-1), and the relative standard deviation is 1.1% for eight determinations of 2 microg ml(-1) Cr(VI). The proposed method was applied to the determination of chromium in electroplating waste water with satisfactory results.     

Spectrophotometric determination of p.p.b. levels of long-chain amines in waters and raffinates

An analytical procedure is described for the determination of p.p.b. levels of long-chain amines in river and sea water and uranium processing raffinates. The method involves extraction of the amine as an ion-association complex with chromate from sulphuric acid media into chloroform. The extracted chromium(VI) is then determined spectrophotometrically with diphenylcarbazide. With a 100-ml sample, the limit of detection for Alamine 336 (a commercial tertiary amine mixture) is 15 p.p.b.     

Preconcentrative separation of chromium(VI) species from chromium(III) by coprecipitation of its ethyl xanthate complex onto naphthalene

A rapid, sensitive and selective method is described for the determination of chromium(VI) in presence of 100-fold amounts of chromium(III) by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) in conjunction with coprecipitative preconcentration of its ethyl xanthate complex onto naphthalene. The solid mixture consisting of the chromium(VI) complex together with naphthalene is dissolved in 8.0 ml of dimethyl formamide (DMF) and chromium(VI) content was established by FAAS. Calibration graphs were rectilinear over the chromium(VI) concentration in the range 0-200 μg l⁻¹. Five replicate determinations of 20 μg of chromium(VI) present in 1.0 l of sample solution gave a relative standard deviation of 3.1%. The detection limit corresponding to three times the standard deviation of the blank was found to be 0.5 μg l⁻¹. The developed procedure has been successfully utilized for the estimation of chromium(VI), chromium(total) (after oxidation with bromate) and chromium(III) (by subtracting chromium(VI) content from chromium(total) value contents of several tannery industries.     

Flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of chromium(VI) by on-line preconcentration system using a PTFE packed column

A new, sensitive and robust time-based flow injection (FI) method for on-line preconcentration and determination of ultra trace amounts of chromium(VI) by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) has been elaborated. The sample is initially mixed on-line with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) and the Cr(VI)-PDC chelate is absorbed quantitatively on a mini-column packed with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) turnings at a pH range 0.8-1.4. The complex is subsequently eluted with isobutyl methyl ketone (IBMK) and introduced directly into the nebulizer-burner system. The optimized system offered improved performance characteristics, with unlimited lifetime of the proposed column. The enhancement factor was 80, for a 3-min preconcentration time and the sample frequency was 18 h(-1). The calibration curve was linear over the concentration range 1-40 mug l(-1) with a detection limit of c(L)=0.8 mug l(-1) and a relative standard deviation of s(r)=3.2%, at the 20 mug l(-1) level. The proposed method was evaluated by analyzing samples of certified and spiked water, and it was applied to the analysis of natural water samples and sediments.     

Sequential injection wetting film extraction applied to the spectrophotometric determination of chromium(VI) and chromium(III) in water

The spectrophotometric determination of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) via sequential injection was used to demonstrate the sensitivity enhancement provided by a newly developed wetting film extraction system. The reaction product of Cr(VI) with 1,5-diphenylcarbazide was ion-paired with perchlorate and extracted into an organic wetting film consisting of octanol and 4-methyl-2-pentanone on the inner wall of a Teflon tube. The wetting film, with the extracted analyte, was then eluted with 100 mul acetonitrile and the analyte determined spectrophotometrically at 546 nm. Important optimized parameters were the selection of wetting film and elution solvents, the flow rate, the length and diameter of the extraction coil and the conditions for the formation of the ion paired chelate. Cr(III) was previously oxidized to Cr(VI) and calculated as the difference between total Cr and Cr(VI). An enrichment factor of 25 and a detection limit of 2.0 mug l(-1) Cr(VI) were achieved with a sampling frequency of 17 h(-1). The calibration curve was linear up to 100 mug l(-1) Cr(VI) (r = 0.999). The relative standard deviations were 2.8 and 2.0% at the 25 and 100 mug l(-1) levels.     

On-line preconcentration and determination of copper, lead and chromium(VI) using unloaded polyurethane foam packed column by flame atomic absorption spectrometry in natural waters and biological samples

A simple, sensitive and low cost, flow injection time-based method was developed for on-line preconcentration and determination of copper, lead and chromium(VI) at sub mug l(-1) levels in natural waters and biological samples. At the optimum pH, the on-line formed metal-ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) complexes were sorbed on the unloaded commercial polyurethane foam (PUF), and subsequent eluted quantitatively by isobutylmethylketone and determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). All chemical, and flow injection variables were optimized for the quantitative preconcentration of each metal and a study of interference level of various ions was also carried out. The system offered improved flexibility, low backpressure and applicability to all the studied metals. At a sample frequency of 36 h(-1) and a 60 s preconcentration time, the enhancement factor was 170, 131 and 28, the detection limit was 0.2, 1.8 and 2.0 mug l(-1), and the precision, expressed as relative standard deviation (s(r)), was 2.8 (at 10 mug l(-1)), 3.4 (at 50 mug l(-1)) and 3.6% (at 50 mug l(-1)) for Cu(II), Pb(II) and Cr(VI), respectively. The accuracy of the developed method was sufficient and evaluated by the analysis of certified reference materials and spiked water samples. Finally, the method was applied to the analysis of environmental samples.     

Non-extractive derivative spectrophotometric determination of cobalt in neutral micellar medium

A sensitive derivative spectrophotometric method using 1-nitroso-2-naphthol has been developed for determination of trace amounts of cobalt in the presence of a neutral surfactant. Photometric parameters, viz., lambda(max), molar absorption coefficient and analytical sensitivity of the complex formed in micellar media are 420 nm, 3.18x10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 2.05 ng ml(-1), respectively. Beer's law holds from 0.20 to 3.0 mug ml(-1) of the analyte concentration. The method has a high sensitivity with a detection limit of 1.68 ng ml(-1). A selective determination of cobalt in presence of copper(II) or iron(III) using derivative spectral profiles and without any masking or pre-separation is also reported. Samples of drugs and standard alloys analysed by the proposed method yielded results comparable to those obtained using recommended procedures.     

Determination of soluble chromium in simulated PWR coolant by differential-pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry

An analytical method has been developed for the determination of dissolved chromium at concentrations less than 2 mug/l. in PWR coolant by differential-pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry at a hanging mercury drop electrode. Concentrations above 2 mug/l. can be determined by appropriate dilution of the sample. The method is based on measurement of the current associated with reduction of a chromium(III)-DTPA (diethylenetriaminepenta-acetic acid) complex adsorbed at the surface of the mercury drop. The effects of boric acid, pH, DTPA concentration, accumulation potential and time were investigated together with the oxidation state of the chromium. No interference was observed from other transition metal ions expected to be present in PWR coolant. No alternative chemical technique of similar sensitivity was available for comparison with the results obtained in solutions containing <1 mug/l. chromium. Recoveries from simulated coolant solutions were greater than 95% and the relative standard deviations for single determinations were in the range 12-25%. The statistical limit of detection at the 95% confidence level was 0.023 mug/l. This method of analysis should prove valuable in corrosion studies and is uniquely capable of following the changes in soluble chromium concentration in PWR coolant that follow operational changes in the reactor.     

Preconcentration and spectrophotometric determination of chromium(vi) in natural waters by coprecipitation with barium sulfate

A selective preconcentration of chromium(VI) is proposed for analysis of natural waters. Chromium(VI) is quantitatively separated from chromium(III) by coprecipitation with barium sulfate; salicylic acid is used as a masking agent for iron(III), aluminum(III) and chromium(III). The precipitate is fused with alkali carbonate, and the chromium(VI) in the melt is isolated with hot water and determined spectrophotometrically with diphenylcarbazide. The detection limit is 0.02 μg l^-1 the relative standard deviation for chromium(VI) in river water is less than 5%.     

Colour reaction of chromium (VI) with N,N-diethyl-1,4-phenylenediame in the presence of ethanol and cyclohexyldiamine tetraacetic acid as well as its application in the species analysis of chromium

A simple, rapid and precise spectrophotometric method for the determination of Chromium (III and IV) has been developed. The reaction of Cr(VI) with N,N-diethyl-1,4-phenylenediamine is almost complete in a twinkling, which yields a red product with a wavelength of maximum absorption at 530 nm. Beer's Law is obeyed in the Cr concentration range of 0-2.0 mug ml(-1). The molar absorptivity is 5.0x10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1), limit of detection 0.002 mug ml(-1) and relative SD=1.13% for 5.04 mug Cr. The colouring rate and absorbance are not noticeably affected by temperature from 2 to 45 degrees C. The amounts of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) were measured by determining Cr(VI) first under the condition of masking Cr(III) by cyclohexyldiamine tetraacetic acid, and then the total amount by oxidation of Cr(III). The method was applied to the analyses of some industrial waste waters containing Cr with satisfactory results.     

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.