Spectrophotometric determination of Sb(III) in Sb(III)/Sb(V) binary mixtures using sodium dodecylsulfate/nonylphenoxy polyethoxyethanol mixed micellar media

Different micellar media had different effects on the absorption spectra of the complexes of bromopyrogallol red with Sb(III) and Sb(V). The mixed micellar medium composed of 0.7 ml of 0.2% sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and 0.3 ml of 2% nonylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (OP) at 80 degrees C could be used for the sensitive determination of Sb(III) in Sb(III)/Sb(V) binary mixtures. Under the optimal conditions, Beer's Law was obeyed over the range 0.1-2.3 mug ml(-1) Sb(III) with molar absorptivity at 538 nm being 4.8 x 10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and detection limit 0.04 mug ml(-1). For 10 mug Sb(III), more than 100 mug Sb(V) could be tolerated (error < 3%) in the presence of SDS/OP micellar medium as compared with 0.1 mug Sb(V) in the absence of SDS/OP micellar medium. In addition, the sensitivity of Sb(III) in the micellar medium was much higher than that in pure water medium. As compared with conventional extraction spectrometry, the proposed method produced a reproducible result. It did not need the conversion of Sb(III) to Sb(V) and a time-consuming extraction process. A detailed discussion on the selection of surfactants, the effect of temperature, and the role played by the mixed surfactants were also made.