Neutron activation analysis of high-purity selenium : Determination of phosphorus,sulfur and chlorine

Chlorine was determined in selenium by irradiation of 2-g samples for 37 min at a flux of 8·10¹⁰ n/cm²/sec. Chlorine was volatilised from hot concentrated nitric acid and precipitated as silver chloride. The isotope ³⁸Cl (T_{$\text{1}\text{2}$}=37.3 min) was counted by γ-spectrometry. Sulfur and phosphorus were determined by irradiating 50-mg samples with and without cadmium shielding for 4 days at a thermal flux of 6·10¹² n/cm²/sec and a fast flux of 4·10¹¹ n/cm²/sec. The matrix activities were separated by distillation from sulfuric acid-hydrobromic acid at 200–220°. The isotope ³²P (T_{$\text{1}\text{2}$}=14.3 d) was then precipitated, together with phosphate carrier, as ammonium phosphomolybdate, and counted with a G.M. tube. Amounts of 0.4–1 p.p.m. chlorine, 65–520 p.p.b. phosphorus and 1.5–4.6 p.p.m. sulfur were found in high-purity selenium samples.     

Synergistic solvent extraction of copper, cobalt, rhodium and iridium into 1, 2-Dichloroethane at trace level by newly synthesized 25, 26, 27, 28-tetrahydroxy-5, 11, 17, 23-tetra-[4-(N-hydroxyl-3-phenylprop-2-enimidamido) phenylazo] calix[4]arene

A spectrophotometric method for determination of copper, cobalt, rhodium and iridium ions from nitric acid media after extraction of these ions by 25, 26, 27, 28-tetrahydroxy-5, 11, 17, 23-tetra-[4-(N-hydroxyl-3-phenylprop-2-enimidamido) phenylazo] calix [4] arene (THPAC) has been developed and possible synergistic effect has been investigated. The maximum enhancement was obtained in the presence of 30% 1, 2-dichloroethane in DMF and 3M nitric acid. The trace amounts of the metal were determined spectrophotometrically. Beer’s law was obeyed in concentration range 5.0–10.0 μg, 6.0–120.0 μg, 12.0–100.0 μg, and 10.0–130.0 μg/10 mL of the final solution of copper, cobalt, rhodium and iridium, respectively. The molar absorptivities (l mol^?1 cm^?1) and Sandell’s sensitivities (μg cm^?1) were calculated: Cu (II) = 0.96 × 10^4, 0.0066; Co (II) = 1.13 × 10⁴, 0.0052; Rh (III) = 0.98 × 10⁴, 0.012; and Ir (III) = 2.03 × 10⁴, 0.0095, respectively. Seven replicate analyses containing of 20.0 μg of Cu (II), 24.0 μg of Co (II), 36.0 μg of Rh (III) and 25.0 μg of Ir (III) gave mean absorbance 0.302, 0.462, 0.344, 0.264; and relative standard deviation 0.65, 0.85, 1.10, 1.08%, respectively. The interference of various ions was studied and optimum conditions were developed for determination of metals in certain alloys, environmental, pharmaceutical and synthetic samples.     

Determination of trace impurities in tin by neutron activation analysis

A method was developed for the determination of 15 trace elements in tin. High-purity tin samples (99.9999% and 99.999%) as well as tin of technical quality were analysed. Reactor neutron activation of the tin samples was followed by distillation of the matrix activities from a HBr−H₂SO₄ medium and Ge(Li) gamma-ray spectrometry of the distillation residue. The sensitivity of the method is generally high. For the high-purity samples the detection limits vary from 0.02 ppb (scandium) to 200 ppb (iron) for irradiation of 1 g of tin for 1 week at a thermal flux of 5·10¹²n·cm⁻². ·sec⁻¹. To decontaminate the surface of the tin samples, pre- and post-irradiation etching procedures were applied. The efficiency of these etching techniques was studied.     

Trace element determination in high-purity scandium by neutron activation analysis and pre-irradiation matrix separation

A pre-irradiation separation procedure has been developed for the determination of trace elements in high-purity scandium by neutron activation analysis. The sample is dissolved in high-purity concentrated hydrochloric acid and scandium is extracted with the same volume of a solution of 50 vol.% bis(2-ethyl hexyl)-orthophosphoric acid (HDEHP) in toluene. The scandium matrix is removed from the most important trace impurities and the residual amount of Sc is in the range of 0.001%. The separation is carried out in the vial to be used in irradiation to prevent sample contamination. Detection limits in the ppb range were achieved with a sample of 10 mg, a thermal neutron flux of 2 · 10¹³ n · cm^–2 · s^–1 and an irradiation time of 48 hours. Most of the elements sought in two samples of high-purity scandium were below the detection limits.     

On-line spectrophotometric determination of scandium after preconcentration on XAD-4 resin impregnated with nalidixic acid

An on-line scandium preconcentration and determination method was developed with spectrophotometer associated with flow injection. Scandium from aqueous sample solution of pH 4.5 was selectively retained in the minicolumn containing XAD-4 resin impregnated with nalidixic acid at a flow rate of 11.8 mL min^?1 as scandium–nalidixic acid complex. The scandium complex was desorbed from the resin by 0.1 mol L^?1 HCl at a flow rate of 3.2 mL min^?1 and mixed with arsenazo-III solution (0.05 % solution in 0.1 mol L^?1 HCl, 3.2 mL min^?1) and taken to the flow through cell of spectrophotometer where its absorbance was measured at 640 nm. The preconcentration factors obtained were 35 and 155; detection limits of 1.4 and 0.32 μg L^?1 and sample throughputs of 40 and 11 were obtained for preconcentration time of 60 and 300 s, respectively. The tolerance limits of many interfering cations like Th(IV), U (VI), rare-earths and anions like tartrate, citrate, oxalate and fluoride were improved. The method was successfully applied to the determination of scandium from mock seawater samples and good recovery was obtained. The method was also validated on certified reference material IAEA-SL-1 (lake sediment) and the result was in good agreement with the reported value.     

Study of scandium and thorium sorption from uranium leach liquors

Scandium and thorium sorption from simulated uranium leach liquors by phosphorous containing ion exchange resins was studied. Increase of thorium concentration resulted in a decrease of scandium sorption by 26–65%. Tulsion CH 93 resin was chosen for Sc separation from uranium leach liquors. It was shown that 180 g L^?1 Na₂CO₃ allowed for elution 94.1% of Sc and 98.9% of Th in dynamic conditions. Using (NH₄)₂SO₄ (50 g L^?1) + ACBM (180 g L^?1) mixture for primary Sc/Th separation at the resin/eluent ratio of 1:5 resulted in thorium desorption degree as high as 66–69%, whereas scandium loss did not exceed 10%.     

Quantitative goldbestimmung in filmmaterialien mittels flammenloser atomabsorption

A graphite rod electrothermal atomizer has been used for the AAS determination of traces of gold in hydrochloric and in hydrobromic acid solutions, and also after extraction into HBr-saturated methyl isobutyl ketone. Photographic film samples were decomposed first by enzyme action then by nitric acid/peroxide oxidation, and the gold was extracted into MIBK. For 10-μl aliquots of solution the 3s limits of detection were 3 × 10^?10g for aqueous solutions, 7 × 10^?10g for MIBK, and 7 × 10^?9 g/cm² for film.     

Determination of 17 trace elements in gallium arsenide by reactor neutron activation analysis

A method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 17 trace elements in gallium arsenide. The method involves reactor neutron irradiation of the samples, distillation of the arsenic matrix activity and Ge(Li) γ-ray spectrometry. For a sample size of 0.1 g and a 10-day irradiation at 2·10¹³ n cm^-2 s^-1, the detection limits vary from 70 p.p.b. (tin) down to 5·10^-3 p.p.b. (scandium).     

A novel Np–Pu separation procedure based on extraction with di-(chlorophenyl)-dithiophosphinic acid in nitric solution

The extraction behavior of Pu(III), Pu(IV), Np(IV) and Np(V) with di(chlorophenyl)-dithiophosphinic acid (DCPDTPA) in toluene from nitric acid solutions was studied systematically. In aqueous solution with high nitric acid concentration, the extraction capability (represented by distribution ratio D) for Pu and Np in different valences with DCPDTPA comes as D _Np(IV) > D _Pu(IV) > D _Np(V) > D _Pu(III). A new radiochemical procedure for Np/Pu separation based on DCPDTPA extraction was proposed and tested with simulated samples. The recoveries of Np and Pu are as high as 80 % after the whole separation procedure, with the decontamination factor of trivalent lanthanide fission product element (e.g. Eu) greater than 1.5 × 10⁴. The decontamination factor of Pu–Np is 2.0 × 10³, while the decontamination factor of Np–Pu is greater than 4.8 × 10³ after additional purification.     

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of uranium, nitric acid and nitrous acid by least-squares method in PUREX process

Multi-wavelength linear regression spectrophotometry combined with method of least squares for simultaneous determination of uranium, nitric acid and nitrous acid in PUREX (Plutonium/URanium EXtraction) process was developed. The molar absorbance matrix was calibrated with absorbance data measured in the wavelength range of 350–500 nm for a series of standard solutions by linear least-squares regression. This method used information from the absorption spectra of U(VI)–nitrous acid–nitric acid solutions to determine U(VI), nitrous acid and nitric acid. In the range of 0.95–74.1 g/L U(VI), 5 × 10^?4–2 × 10^?3 mol/L nitrous acid and 3–5 mol/L aqueous nitric acid solution, the measuring precision for determination of U(VI), nitrous acid and nitric acid was 0.46, 4.09, and 0.68 % respectively. In the solution of 30 % TBP–kerosene, the measuring precision for determination of U(VI) and nitrous acid was 0.42 and 4.2 % respectively in the range of 0.95–74.1 g/L U(VI) and 5 × 10^?4–2×10^?3 mol/L nitrous acid. The spectrophotometric method can be valuable for monitoring and controlling of both species in PUREX process operation, thanks to its simplicity, efficiency and accuracy.     

Soft chemistry synthesis of powders in the BaF2-ScF3 system

The BaF₂-ScF₃ system is studied using coprecipitation from aqueous solutions. Compound Ba₃Sc₂F₁₂ is found to form over a wide range (10–60 mol %) of scandium concentrations in the initial solution. At higher scandium concentrations in solution, a new phase of provisional composition BaSc₂F₈ · 2H₂O (hexagonal system, a = 9.6346 Å, c = 4.0483 Å) was obtained. Scandium fluoride hydrolysis is not observed by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis.     

Synthesis and molecular and crystal structure of the coordination metallopolymer of scandium(III) nitrate with 4,4,10,10-tetramethyl-1,3,7,9,-tetraazospiro[5.5]undecane-2,8-dione

{[Sc₂(C₁₁H₂₀N₄O₂)₃(H₂O)₆]⁶⁺ · 6(NO ₃ ^? )} _n (I), a coordination metallopolymer, has been synthesized for the first time and analyzed by X-ray diffraction. Crystals are tetragonal, space group P $\bar 4$ 2₁ c, a = 21.9797(6) Å, c = 12.7499(6)Å, V = 6159.6(4) ų, ρ_calcd = 1.392 g/cm³, Z = 4. The scandium atom is coordinated to the three oxygen atoms of spirocarbone molecules, which are related to the basal molecules by the symmetry codes 3/2 ? y, 3/2 ? x, 1/2 + z and 3/2 ? y, 3/2 ? x, ? 1/2 + z, and also to three water molecules. The coordination number of scandium is 6. The coordination polyhedron of scandium is a slightly distorted octahedron with OScO angles within 84.70(15)°–95.86(14)° and 172.77(16)°–173.84(15)°. Nitrate anions are in the outer coordination sphere of the metal. The purity of compound I is verified via the Rietveld refinement of its X-ray powder diffraction pattern; the unit cell parameters at room temperature are a = 22.0589(6) Å, c = 12.7806(6) Å, V = 6219.0(6) ų. Lines unrelated to the major phas are not observed in the X-ray diffraction pattern. The content of the major phase is 100 ± 1%.     

A nafion/crown ether film electrode and its application in the anodic stripping voltammetric determination of traces of silver

Glassy carbon electrodes are modified by coating with dicyclohexyl-18-crown-6 in Nafion-117. The electrode is used for a very sensitive anodic stripping voltammetric determination of silver. High sensitivity is obtained owing to the release of crown molecules from the silver-crown complex during the deposition. The detection limit is 2×10^?12 M after electrodeposition for 30 min. The recommended supporting electrolyte is 4×10^?3–7×10^?3 M potassium chloride in 0.01 M nitric acid with a deposition potential of ?0.30 V vs. SCE and a linear potential scan. Three typical calibration graphs were linear over the range 2×10^?11–1×10^?8 M for deposition times of 30, 20 and 8 min, respectively. The silver content of reagent-grade ammonium nitrate was found to be 0.48×10^?4% with a relative standard deviation of 3.7% (n=7) for parallel determinations.     

Direct dehydration polycondensation of lactic acid catalyzed by water‐stable Lewis acids

Poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) is generally produced by ring‐opening polymerization of (S,S)‐lactide, which is prepared from dehydration polycondensation of lactic acid and successive depolymerization. Results of this study show that scandium trifluoromethanesulfonate [Sc(OTf)₃] and scandium trifluoromethanesulfonimide [Sc(NTf₂)₃] are effective for one‐step dehydration polycondensation of L ‐lactic acid. Bulk polycondensation of L ‐lactic acid was carried out at 130–170 °C to give PLLA with M_n of 5.1 × 10⁴ to 7.3 × 10⁴ (yield 32–60%). The solution polycondensation was performed at 135 °C for 48 h to afford PLLA with M_n of 1.1 × 10⁴ with good yield (90%). In no case did ¹H NMR, specific optical rotation, or DSC measurement confirm racemizations. The catalyst was recovered easily by extraction with water and reused for polycondensation. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 5247–5253, 2006     

Extraction-Spectrophotometric Determination of Fluoride Using N-Phenylbenzohydroxamic Acid

Abstract

Fluoride gives a very stable complex with scandium and, hence, by determining the unreacted scandium, the fluoride content can be calculated. Excess scandium is reacted with an ethanolic solution of N-benzoylphenylhydroxylamine (BPHA) at pH 6.0, and the scandium-BPHA complex is extracted into isoamyl alcohol. Scandium is determined spectrophotometrically after adding xylenol orange. Beer's law for fluoride is obeyed in the range of 0.05 –1.5 ppm; the molar absorptivity is 1.94×10⁴ 1 mol^?1 at 565 nm. The procedure is applicable for the determination of fluoride in various types of samples.     

RP-LC Determination of Residual Monomers in Polycarboxylate Superplasticizers

A procedure was developed for the determination of residual monomers in polycarboxylate superplasticizer by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Seven kinds of residual monomers were quantitatively determined on a SinoChrom ODS-BP (C18) column and UV detector at 205 nm. The mobile phases which were used to determine micromolecular monomers were composed of acetonitrile and phosphate buffer solution (0.05 mol L^?1, pH = 3) in the ratio of 8:92 (v/v). While the mobile phases for long side-chain monomers testing were composed of acetonitrile and phosphate buffer solution (0.05 mol L^?1, pH = 6.5) in the ratio of 40:60 (v/v). The linear response ranged from 4.0 × 10^?6?C2.0 × 10^?3 mol L^?1. The detection limit was 0.12 × 10^?5?C0.8 × 10^?5 mol L^?1. Determination of real samples showed that relative standard deviation of high conversion rate samples was 3.1?C8.7% and standard addition recovery ratio was 91.5?C102.8%. While the relative standard deviation of low conversion rate samples was less than or close to 1% and the standard addition recovery ratio was 96.3?C103.1%.     

Preconcentration of cadmium and nickel using the bioadsorbent Geobacillus thermoleovorans subsp. stromboliensis immobilized on Amberlite XAD-4

Cadmium and nickel ions have been preconcentrated on Geobacillus thermoleovorans subsp. stromboliensis, immobilized on Amberlite XAD-4, and were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Parameters such as pH, amount of adsorbent, eluent type and volume, flow rate of solution and the matrix interference effect on retention have been studied, and extraction conditions were optimized. Elution of Cd(II) and Ni(II) from minicolumns was carried out with 1.0 M hydrochloric acid or nitric acid with recoveries from 97 to 100%. The sorption capacity is 0.0373 and 0.0557 mmol g^?1 for Cd(II) and Ni(II), respectively. The detection limits were 0.24 μg L^?1 for cadmium and 0.3 μg L^?1 for nickel. The relative standard deviations of the procedure were below 10%. The procedure was validated by analyzing certified reference materials and applied to the determination of Cd(II) and Ni(II) in natural water and food samples.     

Spectrophotometric study of reactions of scandium,ytrium and lanthanum ions with some triphenylmethane dyes in the presence of cationic surfactants

Optimum conditions for the formation of ternary complexes of scandium, ytrium and lanthanum ions with chrome azurol S, eriochrome cyanine R and pyrocatechol violet in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium, cetypyridinium and tetradecyldimethylbenzyl-ammonium (zephiramine) ions are described. The spectrophotometric determination of scandium with chrome azurol S and zephiramine exhibits the greatest sensitivity (? = 1.50 × 10⁵ l mol^?1 cm^?1 at 610 nm). In the spectrophotometric determination of scandium with eriochrome cyanine R and cetylpyridinium ion (? = 9.2 × 10⁴ at 600 nm), the interference caused by yttrium is the least. In the best method for yttrium (with pyrocatechol violet and zephiramine), the molar absorptivity is 3.3 × 10⁴ at 660 nm. Lanthanum does not form ternary complexes of analytical interest in these systems. Some aspects of the formation of ternary complexes with cationic surfactants are discussed.     

Determination of trace elements in marine plankton by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

A method has been developed for the determination of 23 elements in marine plankton in which inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source mass spectrometry (MS) was used to quantify the elements in the solution after digestion in a mixture of hydrofluoric and nitric acids in sealed PTFE vessels in a microwave field. The procedure was validated by the analysis of a standard reference soil (SRM 2709 San Joaquin Soil) and a standard reference fresh water plankton (CRM 414). The method was applied to the analysis of several marine plankton samples grown under controlled conditions including several whose growth media had been enriched with selenium. Matrix induced signal suppressions and instrumental drift were corrected by internal standardization. The suitabilities of germanium, indium, rhodium, scandium and yttrium as internal standard elements were evaluated. Neither scandium nor yttrium could be used due to the presence of these elements in the samples, germanium was used for the determination of As, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Se, Si and Zn, indium was used for Al, Ba, Ca, Eu, Sr, and Tl, and rhodium was used for Cd, Cr, Hg, Mg, Pb, Sb, Sn, and V. For Al, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Si, Sr, V, and Zn internal standardization did not completely compensate for the suppressive effect of the heavier elements and the solutions were diluted. However, for As, Ba, Cd, Co, Eu, Hg, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn and Tl, it was possible to obtain accurate results despite the 35–¶40% suppression in the signals. Isobaric overlap was only a problem in the cases of ⁴²Ca and ⁷⁸Se; ⁴⁴Ca and ⁷⁷Se, respectively, were used. Memory effects were only observed with Hg for which a nitric acid-sodium chloride solution was the most effective wash-out solution. The marine plankton samples were able to tolerate a higher concentration of Hg as the selenium concentration increased.     

Poly(4-vinylpyridine-co-aniline)-modified electrode—synthesis, characterization, and application as cadmium(II) ion sensor

A poly(4-vinylpyridine-co-aniline) (poly(4VP-co-Ani))-based solid-state ion sensor for cadmium (Cd) was developed. This was obtained from studies done on a number of selected monomers electropolymerized onto a poly(4vinylpyridine) (P4VP)-modified graphite pencil rod, surface characterizing them and then analyzing their performances as a Cd(II) ion sensor. Among them, the membrane of poly(4VP-co-Ani) at a mole ratio of 0.05:0.15 was found to be the best. The fabricated poly(4VP-co-Ani) solid-state electrode had a linear response of 1?×?10^?6 to 1?×?10^?2?M Cd²⁺, slope of 29.4?±?0.5 mV decade^?1, detection limit of 7.94?×?10^?7?M Cd²⁺, and response time of 15 s at pH 4.5–8.5 with excellent selectivity. The sensor was operationally stable within a period of 3 months. The proposed sensor was tested for determination of Cd²⁺ in environmental, plant, and pharmaceutical samples. The analyses were comparable to the standard atomic absorption spectrophotometric method.