A new polymeric chromogenic reagent for dual-wavelength spectrophotometric determination of iron(III)

By condensing chitosan with 7-(4-formyl-phenylazo)-8-quinolinol-5-sulfonic acid (FPAQS), a new polymeric chromogenic reagent C-FPAQS has been synthesized and its properties investigated. In acidic media (pH 2.7), C-FPAQS reacts with iron(III) to yield an orange complex with a molar absorptivity of 2.8 × 10⁴ lmol^–1 cm^–1 at 420 nm, and in the meantime a negative peak at 524 nm. The apparent molar absorptivity (420–524 nm) obtained by dual-wavelength measurements is 7.9 × 10⁴lmol^–1cm^–1 which is about two times higher than that by single-wavelength measurements at 420 nm Beer's law is obeyed in the range of 0–0.8 g ml^–1 for iron(III). The developed method has been satisfactorily used to determine iron at the 0.03 to 3% (ww) level in a nylon-6 and in a soil sample. Compared to the corresponding low-molecular weight FPAQS and other chromogenic reagents, C-FPAQS has not only good sensitivity but also largely increased acid solubility and improved selectivity for iron, which may be explained by the incorporation of FPAQS into an acid-soluble polymer.