Simultaneous determination of manganese and zinc in mixtures using first- and second-derivative spectrophotometry

A new direct spectrophotometric determination of manganese with 5,8-dihydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (naphthazarin,NAZA) is reported. Absorption maximum, molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity of 1:2 (M:L) complex are 695 nm, 1.88x10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 2.92 ng cm(-2), respectively. A linear calibration graph is obtained up to a concentration of 7.2 mug ml(-1) of manganese. The optimum range for determination (Ringbom) is between 0.20 and 6.8 mug ml(-1). A rapid method for simultaneous determination of manganese and zinc in their mixture using derivative spectra is described. The range 0.28-5.6 mug ml(-1) manganese could be determined in the presence of 0.33-6.8 mug ml(-1) zinc and vice versa. The developed method was applied to the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of manganese and zinc in some synthetic mixtures and was found to give satisfactory results.