Preconcentration of Trace Cadmium (II) and Copper (II) in Environmental Water Using a Column Packed with Modified Silica Gel-Chitosan Prior to Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Determination

Abstract

A new column loaded with modified silica gel-chitosan is proposed as a preconcentration system for adsorption of trace cadmium (II) and copper (II). The optimization steps were performed under dynamic conditions, involving pH, sample flow rate, eluent selection, concentration, volume, and flow rate. Trace Cd(II) and Cu(II) were quantitatively adsorbed by the modified silica gel-chitosan. The metal ions adsorbed on the separation column were eluted with 0.1 M HNO₃ and determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Under the optimum conditions, this method allowed the determination of cadmium and copper with limits of detection (LOD) of 20 ng L⁻¹ and 38 ng L⁻¹, respectively. The relative standard deviation values (RSDs) for 1.0 mg L⁻¹ of cadmium and 1.0 mg L⁻¹ of copper were 2.62% and 2.85%, respectively.

Keywords:

• Cadmium
• Chitosan
• Copper
• Environmental water
• Preconcentration

Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by grants from the National Outstanding Youth Research Foundation of China (40925010) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21005068).