Direct and Derivative Spectrophotometric Determination of Zinc with 2,4-Dihydroxybenzaldehyde Isonicotinoyl Hydrazone in Potable Water and Pharmaceutical Samples

A simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method is developed for the determination of zinc in aqueous solutions. The metal ion forms a greenish-yellow colored complex with 2,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde isonicotinoyl hydrazone (2,4-DHBINH) in the pH range of 4–10. The complex shows maximum absorbance at 390 nm and in the pH range of 6–8. Beer's law is obeyed in the range 0.10–1.50 µg/mL of Zn(II). The molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity are 3.55 × 10⁴ mol^?1 cm^?1 and 0.0016 µg/cm², respectively. The composition of the complex is 1 : 1. The effect of interfering ions has been studied, and the method was applied to the determination of zinc(II) in potable water and pharmaceutical samples. A fast derivative spectrophotometry method is also proposed for the determination of zinc in the range 0.06–1.60 µg/mL, which is more sensitive than the zero order method.