Determination of trace amounts of copper by means of a highly sensitive spectrophotometer system based on solvent extraction/continuous phase separation

• Published in: BUNSEKI KAGAKU Vol. 40; no. 10; pp. T167 - T170
• Main Authors: SATOH, Hideji, KIKUCHI, Yoichi, SUZUKI, Toshio, SAWADA, Kiyoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: Tokyo The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry 1991; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: continuous phase separation; copper; highly sensitive spectrophotometer; sodium diethyldithiocarbamate; solvent extraction/ spectrophotometry
• ISSN: 0525-1931
• DOI: 10.2116/bunsekikagaku.40.10_T167

A highly sensitive spectrophotometer system equipped with a phase separator and a flow-through absorbance cell was applied to the solvent extraction/spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of copper with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (Na·DDTC). A linear calibration curve was obtained at the absorption maximum of Cu-DDTC complex (436 nm, ε=13000 in carbon tetrachloride) up to 4.0 ppb copper. The detection limit of copper was 0.05 ppb. The RSD was 0.83% for 10 runs at 4.0 ppb of copper at 34-fold concentration factor. By use of masking agents, coexisting ions up to the environmental water level did not interfere with the determination of copper. Applying this method to the determination of copper in land waters, values of 1.2-2.0 ppb copper were obtained.