Spectrophotometric study of the reactions of arsenazo III with alkaline-earth metals

Arsenazo III is used as a spectrophotometric reagent for alkaline-earth metals. The molar absorptivities of the calcium, strontium and barium complexes at 650 nm are 4.40 x 10(4), 4.00 x 10(4) and 3.65 x 10(4) l.mole(-1).cm(-1) respectively. The interference of magnesium is eliminated at pH 5-6. The use of sodium sulphate as masking agent permits the determination of small amounts of calcium, strontium and magnesium in the presence of barium. The alkaline-earth ions can be determined in the presence of each other at pH 4.2 at the 2-10 mug level. Some organic solvents such as dioxan, acetone and ethanol increase the sensitivity and selectivity in acidic medium. The stability constants have been measured and the structure of the complexes is discussed.