Sensitive solid-state optical sensible materials for photothermal determination of trace metals

Methods of photothermal (thermal-lens) determination of iron and mercury on the basis of solid polymer matrices with immobilized reagents are developed. These methods combine selective and efficient preconcentration of trace elements to be analyzed on a transparent polymer matrix, the sensitivity of determination with the reliable and traceable photometric procedures and highly sensitive thermal-lens detection (enhanced in polymers compared to solutions). The advantage of this approach is in the use of sensitive organic reagents previously developed for spectrophotometry. In this study, transparent polymethacrylate matrices modified with copper dithizonate and 1,10-phenanthroline were applied to the determination of mercury(II) and iron(II), respectively.