Untersuchungen zur atomspektroskopischen spurenanalyse in AB-halbleiter-mikroproben—II : Untersuchungen zur bestimmung von Ga-spuren in In und InAs und von In-spuren in Ga, GaAs und GaP durch AAS mit elektrothermischer atomisierung

The atomic-absorption determination of traces of Ga in In, P, As and InAs and of traces of In in Ga, P, As, GaAs and gap is described. The mechanism of the evaporation of the trace element according to the medium used (HCl or HNO₃) is discussed. Nitric acid medium is recommended for analytical determinations. The evaporation of the trace elements and matrices was investigated by means of absorbance vs. time curves. It is shown that a thermal fractionation of AsO³⁻₄ and PO³⁻₄ matrices and Ga and In traces is possible in the ashing step. In the case of Ga the thermal fractionation of the matrices (In³⁺, In³⁺/AsO³⁻₄) from the trace element is possible in the atomization step. The thermal fractionation of In traces from the matrices (Ga³⁺, Ga³⁺/AsO³⁻₄, Ga³⁺/Po³⁻₄) is impossible. The results and the reasons for the non-specific absorption are discussed. The absolute detection limits are Ga 45 pg, In 35 pg. The relative detection limits are 1 ppm in a 0.1 mg sample.     

Turbidimetric determination of sulphate in waters employing flow injection and lead sulphate formation

An analytical flow-injection procedure based on PbSO₄ colloidal formation is proposed as a turbidimetric determination of sulphate in natural waters. Ethanol-water was used as a medium in order to improve the sensibility of the method. Both chemical and flow variables as well as interfering species were studied. A detection limit of 0.3 μg SO²⁻₄ ml⁻¹ was found, and the analytical range (according to Beer's law) was 2–20 μg SO²⁻₄ ml⁻¹. The precision was better than 3% R.S.D. and the sample throughput was ca. 35 h⁻¹. The method, when compared with a standard methodology, gave good results when applied to water analysis.     

Untersuchungen zur atomspektroskopischen spurenanalyse in AB-halbleiter-mikroproben—I : Verdampfbarkeit und unspezifische absorption von AB-verbindungen und ihren komponenten in der graphitrohrküvette

The evaporation of the species Ga³⁺, In³⁺, PO³⁻₄, AsO³⁻₄, Ga³⁺/AsO³⁻₄, Ga³⁺/PO³⁻₄ and In³⁺/AsO³⁻₄ in HCl and HNO₃ medium was investigated by measurement of the non-specific absorption at 250 nm, in a graphite cuvette, with a continuum light source. The maximum of the non-specific absorption is given for the ashing and atomizing phases as a function of the ashing temperatures. Ashing temperatures for analytical determinations can be derived from the results. The mechanisms of evaporation of the substances were investigated by means of extinction-time curves. Absorption spectra of the matrices and of the pure acids used were measured between 190 and 330 nm in the graphite cuvette at different ashing and atomizing temperatures. The InCl- and GaCl-bands of the C-system and new bands of GaO- and InO-molecules were found. The PO-band at 246 nm was detected. The results are discussed and can be applied for thermal fractionation and for background correction by the two-line method in trace analysis by electrothermal AAS.     

Catalytic flow injection determination of vanadium by oxidation of N-(3-sulfopropyl)-3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine using bromate

A catalytic flow-injection (FI) method was developed for the determination of 10⁻⁹ mol l⁻¹ levels of vanadium(IV, V). The method is based on the catalytic effect of vanadium(V) on oxidation of N-(3-sulfopropyl)-3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMBZ·PS) using bromate as oxidant to form a yellow dye (λ_max=460 nm). The use of 5-sulfosalicylic acid (SSA) as an activator enhanced the sensitivity of the method. The calibration graphs with a working range 0.05–8.0 ng ml⁻¹ were obtained for vanadium(V). Vanadium(IV) was also determined, being oxidized by bromate. The detection limit (signal/noise, S/N=3) was 0.01 ng ml⁻¹ (ca. 2×10⁻¹⁰ mol l⁻¹) vanadium. The relative standard deviations (R.S.D.) for 15 determinations of 0.5 ng ml⁻¹ vanadium, and for ten determinations of 0.1 and 1.0 ng ml⁻¹ vanadium were 0.41, 2.6 and 0.25%, respectively, with a sampling rate of 15 samples h⁻¹. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of vanadium in natural waters.     

Simultaneous determination of trace uranium(VI) and zinc(II) by adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry with aluminon ligand

Uranium(VI) complexed with aluminon (3-[bis(3-carboxy-4-hydroxy-phenyl)methylene]-6-oxo-1,4-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxylic acid triammonium salt) was determined by adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (ACSV) using a hanging mercury drop electrode. Trace uranium(VI) and zinc(II) can be simultaneously determined in a single scan in the presence of aluminon and urea. Optimal conditions were found to be: accumulation time; 180–200 s, accumulation potential; 50 mV versus Ag/AgCl, scan rate; 40 mV s⁻¹, supporting electrolyte; 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer at pH 6.5–7.0, and concentration of aluminon; 1×10⁻⁶ M. The linear range of uranium(VI) and zinc(II) were observed over the concentration range 2–33 and 30–120 ng ml⁻¹, respectively. The detection limit (S/N=3) are 0.2 ng ml⁻¹ (uranium) and 30 ng ml⁻¹ (zinc). A good reproducibility shows RSDs of 2.5–4.0% (n=10). The procedure offers high selectivity, with the presence of urea masking some metal ions.     

Spectrophotometric determination of nitrate and nitrite in soil and water samples with a diazotizable aromatic amine and coupling agent using column preconcentration on naphthalene supported with ion-pair of tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium and iodide

Composite diazotization-coupling reagents containing sulfanilamide (SAM), sulfapyridine (SP) or sulfathiazole (ST) as the diazotizable aromatic amines and sodium 1-naphthol-4-sulfonate (NS) as the coupling agent using column preconcentration on naphthalene-tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium(TDBA)-iodide adsorbent have been used for the spectrometric determination of trace nitrate and nitrite in soil and water samples. Nitrite ion reacts with SAM in the pH range 2.0–5.0, SP in the pH range 2.0–2.5 and ST in the pH range 2.0–3.3 in HCl medium to form water-soluble colourless diazonium cations. These cations were coupled with NS in the pH range 9.0–12.0 for the SAM system, 9.6–12.0 for the SP system and 8.5–12.0 for the ST system to be retained on naphthalene-TDBA-I material packed in a column. The solid mass is dissolved from the column with 5 ml of dimethylformamide and the absorbance is measured spectrometerically at 543 nm for SAM-NS, 533 nm for SP-NS and 535 nm for ST-NS. Nitrate is reduced to nitrite by a copper-coated cadmium reductor column and the nitrite is then treated with the diazotization-coupling reagent by column preconcentration. The absorbance due to the sum of nitrate and nitrite is measured and nitrate is determined by difference. The calibration graph was linear over the range 2–40 ng NO₂⁻-N ml⁻¹ and 1.5–30 ng NO₃⁻-N ml⁻¹ in aqueous samples for the SAM and ST systems and 2–48 ng NO₂⁻-N ml⁻¹ and 1.5–36 ng NO₃⁻-N ml⁻¹ in aqueous samples for the SP system, respectively. The sensitivity, accuracy and precision of the systems decreased in the order STSAMSP. The detection limits were 1.4 ng NO₂⁻-N ml⁻¹ and 1.1 ng NO₃⁻-N ml⁻¹ for SAM, 1.6 ng NO₂⁻-N ml⁻¹ and 1.2 ng NO₃⁻-N ml⁻¹ for SP, and 1.0 ng NO₂⁻-N ml⁻¹ and 0.75 ng NO₃⁻-N ml⁻¹ for ST, respectively. The preconcentration factors are 8, 5 and 6 for SAM-NS, SP-NS and ST-NS, respectively. Interferences from various foreign ions have been studied and the methods have been applied to the determination of ng ml⁻¹ levels of nitrite and nitrate in soil and water samples. The mean recovery was 95–102% for all three systems.     

Studies on the determination of dissolved oxygen in water

Studies on the decomposition rates of the Mn(III) complex of cyclohexanediaminetetra-acetate (DCTA) in light and in darkness have shown that this complex is more stable than the one derived from ethylenediaminetetra-acetate. The optimum pH range for the determination of dissolved oxygen by means of the Mn(III)-DCTA complex is found to be between 3 and 4. The absorbance of this complex is independent of the amount of DCTA used (in the range 0.2–1.0 g) with water samples containing a maximum of 3.2 ppm of dissolved oxygen. Significant interferences are caused by the presence of CO²⁻₃, HCO⁻₃, S₂O²⁻₃, PO³⁻₄, I⁻, NO⁻₂, SO²⁻₃, Ca²⁺, Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ at 500 times the oxygen concentration.     

Determination of trace amounts of beryllium using derivative spectrophotometry in non-ionic micellar medium

A rapid and sensitive method for the trace level determination of beryllium based on the formation of a 1:2 complex (λ_max 560 nm) with 1,4-dihydroxy-9,10-anthracenedione in an aqueous medium containing Triton X-100 is reported. Beer’s law is followed in the range 3.60–360 ng ml⁻¹ of Be(II). The molar absorptivity and Sandell’s sensitivity are 1.68×10⁴ l mol⁻¹cm⁻¹ and 0.54 ng cm⁻², respectively; detection limit is 0.23 ng ml⁻¹ of Be(II). Analysis of synthetic mixtures of composition similar to that of alloys and spiked samples of distilled water, gave results that are in agreement with their beryllium content.     

Spectrophotometric method for determination of vanadium and its application to industrial, environmental, biological and soil samples

The very sensitive, fairly selective direct spectrophotometric method for the determination of trace amount of vanadium (V) with 1,5-diphenylcarbohydrazide (1,5-diphenylcarbazide) has been developed. 1,5-diphenylcarbohydrazide (DPCH) reacts in slightly acidic (0.0001–0.001 M H₂SO₄ or pH 4.0–5.5) 50% acetonic media with vanadium (V) to give a red–violet chelate which has an absorption maximum at 531 nm. The average molar absorption coefficient and Sandell’s sensitivity were found to be 4.23×10⁴ l mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹ and 10 ng cm⁻² of V^v, respectively. Linear calibration graph were obtained for 0.1–30 μg ml⁻¹ of V^v: the stoichiometric composition of the chelate is 1:3 (V: DPCH). The reaction is instantaneous and absorbance remain stable for 48 h. The interference from over 50 cations, anions and complexing agents has been studied at 1 μg ml⁻¹ of V^v. The method was successfully used in the determination of vanadium in several standard reference materials (alloys and steels), environmental waters (potable and polluted), biological samples (human blood and urine), soil samples, solution containing both vanadium (V) and vanadium (IV) and complex synthetic mixtures. The method has high precision and accuracy (s=±0.01 for 0.5 μg ml⁻¹).     

Spectrofluorimetric determination of levofloxacin in tablets, human urine and serum

A spectrofluorimetric method to determine levofloxacin is proposed and applied to determine the substance in tablets and spiked human urine and serum. The fluorimetric method allow the determination of 20–3000 ng ml⁻¹ of levofloxacin in aqueous solution containing acetic acid–sodium acetate buffer (pH 4) with λ_exc=292 and λ_em=494 nm, respectively. Micelle enhanced fluorescence improves the sensibility and allows levofloxacin direct measurement in spiked Human serum (5 μg ml⁻¹) and urine (420 μg ml⁻¹), in 8 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate solutions at pH 5.     

Determination of glyphosate by ion chromatography

An ion chromatography system for the determination of glyphosate was described. Ion chromatograph was carried out by suppressed conductivity detection (DX-100). The eluent contained 9 mmol l⁻¹ Na₂CO₃ and 4 mmol l⁻¹ NaOH. The detection limit was 0.042 μg ml⁻¹ (S/N=3). The relative standard deviation was 1.99% and the correlation coefficient of the calibration curve for area was 0.9995. The linear range was 0.042100 μg ml⁻¹. Common inorganic ion and organic acids did not interfere. The recovery was 96.4103.2%. The method was simple, rapid, reliable and inexpensive.     

Spectrophotometric determination of tungsten(VI) enriched by nanometer-size titanium dioxide in water and sediment

The adsorption of W (VI) on different metal oxides (TiO₂, ZrO₂), different crystal form of TiO₂ (rutile, anatase) with high surface areas was studied and compared under different pH. A novel method for preconcentration of W (VI) with nanometer size titanium dioxide (rutile) and determination by spectrophotometry has been developed. W (VI) was selective adsorbed on 100 mg TiO₂ from 250 ml solution at pH 3.0, then eluted by 2 ml 9 mol l⁻¹ sodium hydroxide solution. The eluent was adjusted to 5 ml pH 0 solution, added 0.5 ml 12 mol l⁻¹ HCl, 0.3 ml 3% TiCl₃, 0.3 ml 50% NH₄SCN, stirred for 20 min, used for the analysis of W (VI) by measuring the absorbance at 402 nm with spectrophotometry, based on the chromogenic reaction between the W (VI) and the mixture of TiCl₃ and NH₄SCN. This method gave a concentration enhancement of 50 for 250 ml sample, eliminated the sizable interferences on direct determination with spectrophotometry. Detection limits (3σ, n=11) of 1.2 ng ml⁻¹, relative standard deviation of 2.3% at 10 ng ml⁻¹ level were obtained. The method was applied to determine the W (VI) in hot spring water, river water, tap water and stream sediment. Analytical recoveries of W (VI) added to samples were 98–101%.     

Catalytic determination of cobalt at sub-nanogram levels using the oxidative coupling of 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone with N-ethyl-N-(2-hydroxy-3-sulfopropyl)-3,5-dimethoxyaniline by manual and flow-injection methods

A catalytic photometric method was developed for the determination of sub-nanogram levels of cobalt. The method is based on the catalytic effect of cobalt(II) on the oxidative coupling of 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone with N-ethyl-N-(2-hydroxy-3-sulfopropyl)-3,5-dimethoxyaniline (DAOS) to form a colored dye (λ_max=525 nm) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. In this reaction system, 1,2-dihydroxybenzene-3,5-disulfonate (Tiron) acted as an effective activator for the catalysis of cobalt(II). Variation of reaction time between 5 and 10 min allows the determination range to be extended from 0.01 to 1.0 ng ml⁻¹. The reaction system can also be successfully adapted to flow-injection analysis (FIA). The dynamic range of the proposed flow-injection method was 0.01–1.0 ng ml⁻¹ and detection limit (signal/noise, S/N=3) was 5 pg ml⁻¹ at a sampling rate of 30 h⁻¹. Manual and flow-injection methods were applied to the direct determination of cobalt in pepperbush as a standard material.     

Reversed-phase HPLC method for the estimation of acetaminophen, ibuprofen and chlorzoxazone in formulations

A simple, precise and rapid reversed-phase HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous estimation of acetaminophen, ibuprofen and chlorzoxazone in formulations. The method was carried out on a Kromasil® C₈ column using a mixture of 0.2% triethylamine:acetonitrile (adjusted to pH 3.2 using dilute orthophosphoric acid), and detection was carried out at 215 nm using ketoprofen as internal standard. All these drugs showed linearity in the range of 2–10 μg ml⁻¹, and limits of quantification was found to be 10, 50 and 20 ng ml⁻¹ for acetaminophen, ibuprofen and chlorzoxazone, respectively.     

Development of a luminol-based chemiluminescence flow-injection method for the determination of dichlorvos pesticide

A simple, fast chemiluminescence (CL) flow-injection method based on the reaction of luminol with H₂O₂ in the presence of a cationic surfactant (cyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTMAB) has been described for the direct determination of dichlorvos pesticide (DDVP). Under the optimal conditions, the CL intensity was linear to the DDVP concentration in the range of 0.02–3.1 μg ml⁻¹ (r=0.9998, n=10). The relative standard deviation was 3.4% at 0.35 μg ml⁻¹ (n=10), with a detection limit (3σ) of 0.008 μg ml⁻¹ DDVP. The possible reaction mechanism was also discussed. This method has been successfully applied to the determination of trace DDVP residue in vegetable sample and results have been compared with that of the UV method.     

Magnetic circular dichroism assignment of the longest wavelength band of a series of tetrahedral d OXY- and Thioanions

Room temperature magnetic circular dichroism spectra have been obtained for MoS²⁻₄, MoO²⁻₄, WS²⁻₄, ReS⁻₄, VS³⁻₄, VO³⁻₄ and OsO₄ through their first and second charge-transfer bands. These measurements demonstrate that the band at longest wavelength (ν₁ band) must be assigned to a t₁ → 2e transition for all the compounds investigated.     

Spectrophotometric determination of nitrite based on its catalytic effect on the oxidation of carminic acid by bromate

A highly sensitive and selective method is described for the determination of trace amounts of nitrite based on its effect on the oxidation of carminic acid with bromate. The reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in absorbance of carminic acid at 490 nm after 3 min of mixing the reagents. The optimum reaction conditions were 1.8×10⁻¹ mol l⁻¹ H₂SO₄, 3.8×10⁻³ mol l⁻¹ KBrO₃, and 1.2×10⁻⁴ mol l⁻¹ carminic acid at 30°C. By using the recommended procedure, the calibration graph was linear from 0.2 to 14 ng ml⁻¹ of nitrite; the detection limit was 0.04 ng ml⁻¹; the R.S.D. for six replicate determinations of 6 ng ml⁻¹ was 1.7%. The method is mostly free from interference, especially from large amounts of nitrate and ammonium ions. The proposed method was applied to the determination of nitrite in rain and river water.     

The enthalpy of mixing of liquid NaF and NaMgF3 from drop calorimetry

The enthalpy of mixing of three liquid mixtures of NaF and NaMgF₃ has been measured by drop calorimetry and was found to be negative. This energy release is attributed to a change in the equilibrium

Mg_1/4[MgF²⁻₄]_3/4+f⁻ å MgF²⁻₄ to the formation of complex MgF²⁻₄-ions. A ΔH^M diagram for the system NaF-MgF₂ up to 50 mol % MgF₂ has been constructed.     

Flow-injection chemiluminescence determination of chlortetracycline using on-line electrogenerated [Cu(HIO(6))(2)](5-) as the oxidant

A novel chemiluminescence (CL) flow system for the determination of chlortetracycline is described. It is based on the direct CL reaction of chlortetracycline and [Cu(HIO₆)₂]⁵⁻ in KOH medium. The unstable [Cu(HIO₆)₂]⁵⁻ was on-line electrogenerated by constant-current electrolysis. The CL intensity was linear with chlortetracycline concentration in the range of 0.1–100 μg ml⁻¹. The determination limit was 5.3×10⁻⁸ g ml⁻¹. The whole process could be completed in 1 min. The proposed method is suitable for automatic and continuous analysis, and has been applied satisfactorily to analysis of chlortetracycline in biological fluid.     

Determination of As(III) and total inorganic arsenic by flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple procedure was developed for the direct determination of As(III) and As(V) in water samples by flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (FI–HG–AAS), without pre-reduction of As(V). The flow injection system was operated in the merging zones configuration, where sample and NaBH₄ are simultaneously injected into two carrier streams, HCl and H₂O, respectively. Sample and reagent injected volumes were of 250 μl and flow rate of 3.6 ml min⁻¹ for hydrochloric acid and de-ionised water. The NaBH₄ concentration was maintained at 0.1% (w/v), it would be possible to perform arsine selective generation from As(III) and on-line arsine generation with 3.0% (w/v) NaBH₄ to obtain total arsenic concentration. As(V) was calculated as the difference between total As and As(III). Both procedures were tolerant to potential interference. So, interference such as Fe(III), Cu(II), Ni(II), Sb(III), Sn(II) and Se(IV) could, at an As(III) level of 0.1 mg l⁻¹, be tolerated at a weight excess of 5000, 5000, 500, 100, 10 and 5 times, respectively. With the proposed procedure, detection limits of 0.3 ng ml⁻¹ for As(III) and 0.5 ng ml⁻¹ for As(V) were achieved. The relative standard deviations were of 2.3% for 0.1 mg l⁻¹ As(III) and 2.0% for 0.1 mg l⁻¹ As(V). A sampling rate of about 120 determinations per hour was achieved, requiring 30 ml of NaBH₄ and waste generation in order of 450 ml. The method was shown to be satisfactory for determination of traces arsenic in water samples. The assay of a certified drinking water sample was 81.7±1.7 μg l⁻¹ (certified value 80.0±0.5 μg l⁻¹).