| Abstract: | This paper describes the voltammetric behavior of As(III) at the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) in the presence of sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate (SDDC) and a new voltammetric method for the determination of As(III) at trace levels. The method is based on the adsorptive deposition of a As(III) complex with SDDC at ?0.45 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) on the HMDE in acidic medium of 0.01 mol L?1 HCl (pH 2.0) and its cathodic stripping during the potential scan (100 mV s?1). The linear range for the determination of As(III) in the presence of SDDC (4 μmol L?1) in water samples was between 1 and 10 μg L?1 for a deposition time of 300 s (r=0.994) and between 10 and 100 μg L?1 for a deposition time of 60 s (r=0.999). For the determination of As(III) in dialysis concentrate samples, the linear range was between 5 and 25 μg L?1 for a deposition time of 180 s (r=0.992) and between 10 and 100 μg L?1 for a deposition time of 60 s (r=0.996). Detection limits of 0.3 and 2.2 μg L?1 in water and dialysis concentrate samples were calculated for the method using a deposition time of 300 and 180 s, respectively. Recovery values between 93.0 and 110.0% for As(III) added to deionized, mineral, seawater (synthetic and real) and dialysis concentrate samples prove the satisfactory accuracy and applicability of the procedure. |
