Nephelometric determination of germanium(IV) witho-phenanthroline and bromopyrogallol red in the presence of triton X-100

The light scattering of germanium(IV) witho-phenanthroline phen] and bromopyrogallol red BPR] in the presence of Triton X-100 has been studied. The ternary complex shows a constant light scattering intensity in an acidic medium (0.02 mol/l HCl+0.02 mol/l H₃PO₄). The maximum wavelength was 332 nm. The calibration graph is linear in the range 0.03–10 g/25 ml for Ge(IV). The detection limit is 0.03 g/25 ml. The composition of the ternary complex is GephenBPR = 122. The effects of diverse ions on the determination of Ge(IV) were examined. This simple method with high sensitivity can be successfully applied to the determination of Ge(IV) in coal fly ash, with a relative standard deviation of 2%.