A Multi‐Element Flow Injection System for Heavy Metals Determination

Abstract

A multi‐element flow injection (FI) system with spectrophotometric detection was developed for sequential determination of Zn(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), and Hg(II). Dithizone reagent was used for the previously mentioned analytes and it was prepared on line by using a solid reagent column (SRC). Bear in mind that the most hazardous elements for environmental contamination are lead, cadmium, and mercury; a multi‐element FI system with preconcentration steps is proposed to determine their trace levels in natural waters. Results obtained for different samples agreed satisfactorily with those obtained by the reference method inductively coupled plasma‐atomic emission spectrometry (ICP‐AES). Detection limits were 5.4, 5.0 and 14 µg L⁻¹ for Cd(II), Pb(II), and Hg(II), respectively. The percent of relative standard deviation (RSD) was better than 4.5% for each one.

Keywords:

• Heavy metals
• preconcentration
• spectrophotometric detection
• FIA

Acknowledgments

The authors express their gratitude to the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) de la República Argentina. This work was partially supported by the Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, República Argentina.