Spectrophotometric determination of molybdenum and tungsten in niobium with dithiol

A new procedure for the determination of molybdenum and tungsten in niobium has been developed. The method involves the formation of the intensely colored complex of molybdenum with toluene-3,4-dithiol in an aqueous medium and its extraction into carbon tetrachloride followed by the reduction of tungsten and the formation and extraction of its complex. The recommended reagent is stable for at least 90 days. Both the molybdenum and the tungsten dithiol complexes are formed quantitatively within 5 min. Interlaboratory evaluation of the method reveals within-laboratory and between-laboratory relative standard deviations of about 1.5% and 2.9% respectively.