Semimicrodetermination of mercury(II) and zinc(II) by precipitation from homogeneous solution,using cation generation technique

An efficient semimicro gravimetric method for the determination of mercury(II) and zinc(II) is presented. Potassium thiocarbonate (PTC) has been used as a source of sulfide and thiocarbonate ions affording clean precipitation from homogeneous solution and allowing the direct weighing of the precipitate when dry. The use of EDTA, ammonium tartrate, and PTC for masking of adverse ions in alkaline medium has afforded an efficient analytical separation of Hg(II) and Zn(II). The mean relative error is less than 1% in these estimations.