Spectrophotometric determination of trace cadmium in vegetables with 3,5-bis(4-phenylazophenylaminodiazo)benzoic acid

A new highly sensitive and selective chromogenic reagent, 3,5-bis(4-phenylazophenylaminodiazo)benzoic acid (BPPABA) has been synthesized and applied to the determination of trace cadmium(II) in vegetables. The method is based on the color reaction between BPPABA and cadmium (II). In the presence of Triton X-100, cadmium(II) reacts with BPPABA in Na₂B₄O₇-NaOH buffer solution (pH 10.5), forming red complex with maximum absorption at 530 nm. Under the optimal conditions, Beer’s law is obeyed within 0–12 μg of cadmium within 25 mL of solution, and the apparent molar absorptive coefficient of the complex is 2.8 × 10⁵ L/mol cm. The detection limit and the relative standard deviation were found to be 0.92 μg/L and 1.0%, respectively. Interference of foreign ions was also investigated. Most of the metal ions are tolerated in considerable amounts except for Hg(II), Cu(II) and Ni(II). To eliminate the interference of foreign ions, metal ion imprinted polymer technique was utilized.