Indole as a reagent for nitrite in aqueous solution

A fairly selective and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the trace determination of nitrite in aqueous solution is described. The titled ion reacts with indole in acidic medium to form a soluble pink-red product, which is measured at 530 nm. Maximum absorbance is achieved in 10 min and remains constant for about 45 min. This method is applicable to water samples containing 0–2 μg/ml with a relative error of 0.0 to–0.8%, and relative standard deviation of 0.3–0.8%, depending on the concentration level. The optimum reaction conditions affecting and related to the color reaction and interferences due to foreign ions have been studied.