Preconcentration of copper,lead, cadmium and zinc ions from water with 2-mercaptobenzothiazole loaded on glass beads with the aid of collodion

2-Mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) loaded on glass beads with the aid of collodion was prepared and used for selective preconcentration of μg l^?1 levels of copper(II) and lead from aqueous solutions. Copper and lead were quantitatively retained on the loaded beads from solutions of pH 5.0–6.0 and >5.0, respectively, while cadmium(II) and zinc(II) were retained at ? pH 6.0 and 7.0, respectively. The retention capacity of the loaded beads was ca. 108 μg Cu g^?1 (1.7 μmol g^?1) at pH 5.5 for beads of 0.3–0.4 mm diameter. The mole ratios of MBT to copper(II) and lead(II) were ca. 10 and 45, respectively, regardless of the amount of MBT loaded on the beads. Copper was completely retained on the column at a high flow rate (21.7 ml min^? cm^?2) and lead(II) at up to 12.7 ml min^? cm^?2. Cadmium(II) and zinc(II) were not retained quantitatively even at low flow rates (< 1.2 ml min^?1 cm^?2). Thus, selective preconcentration of copper and lead was achieved by passing the sample through the column at high flow rate at pH 6.5. The copper and lead retained on the column were complete eluted together with the collodion with 5 ml of MIBK by batch-mode elution, and determined directly by one-drop atomic absorption spectrometry. Copper(II) and lead(II) in several kinds of water were determined.