Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric determination of copper and zinc in high-purity bismuth after thiocyanate extraction

Copper and zinc (0.01–1 μg g^?1)in high-purity bismuth are extracted together as their thiocyanate complexes into methyl isobutyl ketone and determined by atomic absorption spectrometry with a tungsten-strip atomizer. The concentrations of copper found by the proposed method agree well with the values obtained by similar atomic absorption spectrometric methods involving prior extraction of copper as its bathocuproine or diethyldithiocarbamate complex.     

Determination of cadmium,indium and zinc in nickel—base alloys by atomic absorption spectrometry with introduction of solid samples into furnaces

Atomic absorption spectrometry with an induction furnace is used for the determination of cadmium (0.002–2 μg g^-1), indium (0.6–350 μg g^-1) and zinc (0.05–26 μg g^-1) in 0.8–35 mg samples of nickel—base alloys dropped into the furnace. A resistively-heated furnace is employed for the determination of lower concentrations of indium (<0.6 μg g^-1). Standardised alloys were used for calibration. Accuracy, precision and detection limits are described for numerous nickel—base alloys. With alloys containing zinc, > 0.1 μg Cd g^-1 and >0.6 &,mu;g In g^-1, the relative standard deviations are 12%, 8% and 7%, respectively. Calculated detection limits for cadmium, indium and zinc are 2 ng g^-1, 10 ng g^-1 and 10 ng g^-1, respectively.     

Sensitive analysis In(III) in various matrices by spectrophotometry after dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop

A dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop (DLLME-SFOD) was developed for preconcentration and determination of indium in real samples. In this method, an appropriate mixture of acetone (as disperser solvent) and 1-undecanol (as extracting solvent) containing dithizone (as chelating agent) was rapidly injected into the aqueous samples of indium. In this step, the cloudy solution was formed and the complexes of In-dithizone was extracted into 1-undecanol. After the phase separation, the absorbance of the extracted indium was measured at 510 nm. Under the optimum condition, the calibration graph was linear in the range of 30–230 μg L^?1 with detection limit of 9 μg L^?1. The relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 6) was 1.04 %. The developed method was successfully applied to extract and determine indium in real samples.     

Characterization of neutron transmuted zinc traces in pure copper materials by isotope dilution mass spectrometry

The neutron transmutation doping (NTD) of highly pure copper with zinc was investigated as a promising means of achieving controlled gradation of the zinc content in the range 1–20 μg g^–1. The doping process leads to the enrichment of two stable isotopes ⁶⁴Zn and ⁶⁶Zn in a ratio which differs from that of natural isotopic distribution. Mass spectrometric investigations by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) were performed to validate the results obtained by gamma spectrometry. The investigations included both determination of the isotopic ratios of the doped zinc isotopes and the analysis of the accumulated zinc contents by isotope dilution (ID) analysis. Thereby a sample-specific correction of the blank could be performed because the isotope ⁶⁸Zn was not influenced, because of the transmutation process. The results obtained by TIMS prove the strict proportionality of the doped zinc content, in the range 5 to 20 μg g^–1, to the neutron fluence. Comparison with gamma spectrometric results showed a very good agreement within the uncertainties.     

Determination of indium in minerals,river sediments and coal fly ash by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with palladium as a matrix modifier

A method is described for the determination of indium (10–40 μg g^?1) in lead-zinc ores and magnetic pyrites. Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry is used with palladium as a matrix modifier. Indium (down to 0.085 μg g^?1) in river sediments and coal fly ash can be determined after pre-extraction with ammonium iodide into 4-methyl-2-pentanone. In the presence of palladium, the maximum tolerable ashing temperatures for indium in aqueous solution or organic extract can be raised to 1200°C or 1000°C, respectively, and the sensitivity is greatly improved.     

Determination of thallium in zinc by proton activation analysis

The determination of thallium in unalloyed zinc by proton activation analysis, based on the ²⁰³Tl (p,3n)²⁰¹Pb reaction, is described. Lead-201 was radiochemically separated from the matrix activities (gallium, copper and zinc) by cation exchange, anodic deposition of lead (IV) oxide and precipitation as lead thionalide. Thallium (III) oxide was used as the standard. The method was applied to the BCR reference materials 321,322,323,324 and 325 Unalloyed Zinc. The detection limit is 17 ng g^?1. The relative standard deviation obtainable is 5-1% in the 1-40 μg g^?1 concentration range.     

O. Carboxyphenylhydrazoethylacetoacetate as an Analytical Reagent for the Determination of Cu(II) and Co(II) in Complex Materials

An extraction‐spectrophotometric method for the determination of trace amounts of copper and cobalt based on their extraction into n‐pentanol with 0. carboxyphenylhydrazoethylacetoacetate (O.CPHEAA) was per formed. Copper was extracted from pH 6.0 – 8.0 and ionic strength 0.5 M – KCl. The maximum absorption of the extracted Cu(II) ‐ O.CPHEAA complex (1:1 & 1:2 species) occurs at 415 nm. The proposed method succeeded in as saying a concentration of 3–63 μg per 10 mL of n‐pentanol (? = 1.25 × 10⁴L mol^?1 cm^?1). The method failed to ex tract cobalt ion into various organic sol vents over a pH range of 2–11. The suggested method is highly selective and sensitive according to a wide scheme of interference studied. Copper in some plant samples was accurately estimated using the suggested method. The obtained results and the results of the AAS method were consistent. The reproducibility test shows a relative standard deviation of 1%. Sandell sensitivity for A = 0.001 is 5 × 10^?3 μg cm^?2.     

Kinetic spectrophotometric determination of indium/gallium mixtures

A kinetic method is presented for the determination of 0.5–5 μg ml^?1 gallium based on its activating effect on the copper(II)-catalyzed oxidation of 4,4′-dihydroxybenzophenone thiosemicarbazone by hydrogen peroxide. The reaction is monitored spectrophotometrically at 415 nm. Two sets of reaction conditions are established; one for the direct determination of gallium, and another, in which indium affects the gallium response, for determination of indium. Mixtures of these cations can be determined at μg ml^?1 levels and in gallium/indium ratios from 7.5:1 to 1:1.6, with an accuracy and precision of ca. 4.5%.     

On-line solid phase extraction coupled to flame atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of trace copper and zinc in environmental and biological samples

In this work, bamboo charcoal (BC) was used as a sorbent for on-line solid phase extraction (SPE) coupling with flame atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) for trace copper and zinc determination in environmental and biological samples. Under the optimum pH of 5.5 (for Zn) and 7.0 (for Cu), trace copper and zinc were effectively adsorbed on the microcolumn and the retained cations were efficiently eluted with HCl or HNO₃ with an appropriate concentration and flow rate for on-line AAS determination. With a sample loading time of 60 s at a sample flow rate of 7.6 mL min^?1, the enhancement factors of 39 (for Cu) and 30 (for Zn) and detection limits (3σ) of 0.60 µg L^?1 (for Cu) and 0.36 µg L^?1 (for Zn), respectively, were achieved. The sample throughput was 45 h^?1. At the level of 20 µg L^?1of Cu(II) and Zn(II), the precision (RSD, n?=?11) were found to be 0.26% and 1.6%, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of copper and zinc in environmental and biological samples.     

Preconcentration of copper,lead, cadmium and zinc ions from water with 2-mercaptobenzothiazole loaded on glass beads with the aid of collodion

2-Mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) loaded on glass beads with the aid of collodion was prepared and used for selective preconcentration of μg l^?1 levels of copper(II) and lead from aqueous solutions. Copper and lead were quantitatively retained on the loaded beads from solutions of pH 5.0–6.0 and >5.0, respectively, while cadmium(II) and zinc(II) were retained at ? pH 6.0 and 7.0, respectively. The retention capacity of the loaded beads was ca. 108 μg Cu g^?1 (1.7 μmol g^?1) at pH 5.5 for beads of 0.3–0.4 mm diameter. The mole ratios of MBT to copper(II) and lead(II) were ca. 10 and 45, respectively, regardless of the amount of MBT loaded on the beads. Copper was completely retained on the column at a high flow rate (21.7 ml min^? cm^?2) and lead(II) at up to 12.7 ml min^? cm^?2. Cadmium(II) and zinc(II) were not retained quantitatively even at low flow rates (< 1.2 ml min^?1 cm^?2). Thus, selective preconcentration of copper and lead was achieved by passing the sample through the column at high flow rate at pH 6.5. The copper and lead retained on the column were complete eluted together with the collodion with 5 ml of MIBK by batch-mode elution, and determined directly by one-drop atomic absorption spectrometry. Copper(II) and lead(II) in several kinds of water were determined.     

Simultaneous flow-injection determination of aluminium and zinc using LED photometric detection

A flow photometer with a multi-LED detector was applied to the simultaneous determination of aluminium and zinc with microcomputer control of photometric measurements and data processing. Xylenol Orange is the photometric reagent and the reaction is carried out in acetate buffer. Calibration graphs are linear for both metals in the concentration ranges 0.2–25 μg ml^?1 (Al) and 0.2–30 μg ml^?1 (Zn). Both elements can be determined for Al to Zn ratios varying from 0.01 to 100 with r.s.d. 1.1 and 1.4%, respectively. The method developed was applied to the determination of Al and Zn in alloys.     

Speciation of bound and free metals evaluated for lobster digestive gland extracts

A simple method is described for the speciation of metalions in biological extracts with a short desalting gel-filtration column. The system was optimized for the eluent and gel type to provide accurate free metal ion levels and minimum processing times. The four separation media studied were Sephadex G25, Bio-Gel P-6DG, controlled pore glass CPG40, and Fractogel HW40F. The best medium was the Fractogel HW40F because it was not compressible and allowed a pump to be used to obtain uniform flow rates. The eluent was 0.10 M ammonium acetate/0.01 M citric acid adjusted to pH 7.0. This eluent minimized ion/gel interactions and gave a lower salt content relative to other possible eluents. The separation time was 10 min per sample per metal ion of interest. The detection limits relative to the mass of wet tissue for the column/flame spectrometer system were 0.80 μg g^?1, 0.80 μg g^?1, and 1.6 μg g^?1 for zinc, cadmium and copper, respectively. The method is evaluated for a lobster digestive gland extract; the methodology should be applicable to other systems containing nonlabile metal species.     

Sensitive spectrofluorimetric determination of zinc at ultra-trace levels

An ultra-trace method based on the reaction of zinc with salicylthiocarbohydrazone (SATCH) and Triton X-100 as a non-ionic surfactant was developed for the fluorimetric determination of zinc at the picogram level. The reaction is carried out in the pH range 4.4–4.7 in an aqueous ethanolic medium [52% (v/v) ethanol]. The influence of the reaction variables is discussed. The detection limit is 10 pg ml^?1 and the range of application is 0.01–500 μg l^?1, with an optimum range of 0.04–400 μg l^?1. The relative standard deviations are 0.68% (0.01–0.1 μg l^?1 of zinc), 0.41% (0.1–1.0 μg l^?1 of zinc), 0.64% (1–10 μg l^?1 of zinc), 0.82% (10–100 μg l^?1 of zinc) and 0.15% (100–500 μg l^?1 of zinc). The method is highly sensitive and selective in the presence of Cd^II and Hg^II. The effect of interferences from other metal ions and anions was studied; the masking action is discussed. The advantages of the proposed method include its high sensitivity, simplicity and selectivity.     

Preconcentration of indium with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-stearoyl-5-pyrazolone on silica gel

Indium was quantitatively retained at pH > 2.8, and could be removed by treatment with 1 M hydrochloric acid. The adsorption capacity of the material was 32 μmol In g^?1. Nickel, cobalt and zinc had no effect on the retention of indium.     

Sensitive Voltammetric Determination of Bisphenol A Based on a Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with Copper Oxide‐Zinc Oxide Decorated on Graphene Oxide

A highly sensitive and selective chemical sensor was prepared based on metallic copper‐copper oxides and zinc oxide decorated graphene oxide modified glassy carbon electrode (Cu?Zn/GO/GCE) through an easily electrochemical method for the quantification of bisphenol A (BPA). The composite electrode was characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochemical behavior of BPA in Britton‐Robinson (BR) buffer solution (pH 7.1) was examined using cyclic voltammetry (CV). Under optimized conditions, the square wave voltammetry (SWV) response of Cu?Zn/GO/GCE towards BPA indicates two linear relationships within concentrations (3.0 nmol L^?1?0.1 μmol L^?1 and 0.35 μmol L^?1?20.0 μmol L^?) and has a low detection limit (0.88 nmol L^?1). The proposed electrochemical sensor based on Cu?Zn/GO/GCE is both time and cost effective, has good reproducibility, high selectivity as well as stability for BPA determination. The developed composite electrode was used to detect BPA in various samples including baby feeding bottle, pacifier, water bottle and food storage container and satisfactory results were obtained with high recoveries.     

Atomic absorption spectrometric determination of copper in calcium carbonate scale and carbonate rocks by direct atomization of solid samples

Powdered samples (1 mg) are mixed with 1 mg of powdered graphite and copper is determined by atomic absorption spectrometry in a miniature graphite cup placed in a graphite crucible. Optimum conditions were drying at 200 °C (30 s), ashing at 900 °C (30 s), atomizing at 2700 °C (15 s) and cleaning at 2800 °C (10 s). Samples were powdered to 1–10 μm particle size. Magnesium, manganese and iron did not interfere. The effect of calcium carbonate was eliminated by the graphite addition. Results for copper (0.5–5 μg g^?1) in the scale and rocks agreed well with values obtained for dissolved samples. Relative standard deviations (n=10) were 4.9% for 1.2 μg g^?1 copper and 14.8% for 0.577 μg g^?1.     

Systematic investigations of the multi-element preconcentration from copper by precipitation of the matrix as copper(I) oxide and copper(I) thiocyanate

Two methods for multi-element preconcentration from copper by reductive matrix precipitation are presented. In systematic investigations on the coprecipitation behaviour of Ag, Al, Au, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Ga, In, Mn, Mo, NJ, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, Te and Zn during precipitation of the copper matrix as Cu₂O or CuSCN, the separation parameters were optimized. By combination with a hexamethyleneammonium hexamethylenedithiocarbamate collector precipitation, a concentration of 8 elements (Cu₂O precipitation) or 13 elements (CuSCN precipitation) in a small volume was achieved. The limits of detection of the procedures are, depending on the element, 0.1–5 μg g^?1 for flame atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and 0.01–0.1 μg g^?1 for graphite furnace AAS. The relative standard deviations are about 3%. The analytical performance of the procedures is compared with that of an electrolytic copper separation.     

Determination of heavy metals in real samples by anodic stripping voltammetry with mercury microelectrodes : Part 2. Application to Rain and Sea Waters

Differential-pulse anodic stripping voltammetry at a mercury microelectrode is applied to determine labile and total zinc, cadmium, lead and copper in samples of rain and sea water. The low ohmic drop associated with microelectrodes permits reliable measurements in rain water without addition of supporting electrolyte. The values found in a typical sample were 0.95 μg l^?1 Cu, 0.38 μg l^?1 Pb, 0.01 μg l^?1 Cd and 0.95 μg l^?1 Zn, with relative standard deviations in the range 4–18%. The small effects of organic matter at microelectrodes, compared with those at a hanging mercury drop electrode, allow sensitive and reliable measurements of labile metals in surface sea water. Total metal concentrations are determined after acidification to pH 1.5 with hydrochloric acid. The results are compared with those obtained with atomic absorption spectrometry and with differential-pulse anodic stripping voltammetry at conventional mercury electrodes. Satisfactory results were obtained for a reference sea water.     

Simultaneous determination of iron,cadmium and lead in zinc by proton activation analysis

Iron, cadmium and lead are determined in zinc by proton activation followed by chemical separation of the indicator radionuclides. The method provides detection limits of 0.03, 0.008 ad 0.1 μg g^?1 for iron, cadmium and lead, respectively. The BCR Unalloyed Zinc reference material 321 was analysed. Concentrations of 2.23, 0.215 and 4.641 μg g^? with 1–7% relative standard deviation were obtained for iron, cadmium and lead, respectively. These results contributed to the provisional certification of the reference material.     

Non-destructive proton activation analysis for nitrogen in refractory metals

The non-destructive determination of nitrogen in some refractory metals was studied by activation analysis with the ¹⁴N(p, n)¹⁴O reaction. The samples were irradiated with 12-MeV protons from a cyclotron. The proton beam intensity was normalized by means of a copper flux monitor. After chemical etching, the ¹⁴O activity (E_γ = 2313 keV, T_{$\text{1}\text{2}$} = 70.5 s) of the sample was measured by means of a Ge(Li) or NaI(Tl) detector. Standardization was carried out by the “average cross-section” method with nylon 6 as a nitrogen standard. The method gives a sensitivity of 0.4–30 μg g^?1 for analysis of Ta, W, Nb, and Ti, and 2000–4000 μg g^?1 for Zr, Ni and Mo.