Solvent extraction and spectrophotometric determination of iron(II) with 2,2′-dipyridyl-2-quinolylhydrazone

2,2′-Dipyridyl-2-quinolylhydrazone (DPQH) was used for the spectrophotometric determination of trace amount of iron(II) after the extraction process. Iron(II) reacts with DPQH at pH 3.4–4.5 to form a water-insoluble 1:2 complex, which can be extracted with many kinds of organic solvent. The extracted species with benzene has absorption maxima at 473, 504, and 644 nm and obeyed Beer's law over the range 0–14 μg of iron at 504 nm and 0–33 μg at 644 nm. The molar absorptivities at 504 and 644 nm are 3.14 × 10⁴ and 1.30 × 10⁴M^?1 cm^?1, respectively. DPQH is one of the most sensitive reagents for iron(II) and trace amount of iron(II) can be determined in the presence of fairly large amounts of other ions. Possible equilibria involved in the extraction process were also studied.