Simultaneous kinetic spectrophotometric determination of vanadium(V) and iron(III)

Vanadium(V) and iron(III) can be determined simultaneously at pH 2 and 25 degrees C by a single experiment using their kinetic effect on the oxidation of indigo carmine by bromate which goes through an induction period and then decreases in absorbance, at lambda(max), 612 nm. The rate of the color-fading of indigo carmine is proportional to the concentration of vanadium and is independent of the concentration of iron. The length of the induction period of the reaction is related to the concentration of iron and is independent of the concentration of vanadium. Concentrations of 0.3-2 (mug ml(-1)) vanadium(V) and 6-12 (mug ml(-1)) iron(III) were determined with mean relative errors of 2.7 and 1.6%, respectively. The interference effects of various cations and anions on determination of mixtures of vanadium and iron is reported. Application of the method to real samples and several mixtures of standard solutions are performed which gave acceptable results.