Spectrophotometric determination of iron in aluminium metal and some non-ferrous alloys

A new, sensitive and selective spectrophotometric method is suggested for the determination of traces of iron(III) based on complex formation with hematoxylin in presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Addition of CTAB shifted the absorption maximum of the iron-hematoxylin complex from 630 to 640 nm and increased its molar absorptivity from 9.88 × 10⁴ to 1.16 × 10⁵ 1·mol^–1·cm^–1. The method adhered to Beer's law up to 0.4 and 0.2 g/ml of iron in presence and absence of CTAB, respectively. The corresponding values of Sandell's sensitivity were 0.5 and 0.6 ng·cm^–2. The effect of reagent and surfactant concentrations, pH and standing time were investigated. EDTA, tartrate and sodium fluoride were used as masking agents for most of the interfering ions. The method was successfully used for the determination of iron in aluminium metal and some non-ferrous alloys.