A spectrophotometric method for determination of molybdenum in water samples by using pyrogallol red and a water soluble ionic liquid
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Date
2013
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Abstract
The present study describes a simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of molybdenum in real water samples. The method is based on the hyperchromic and bathochromic effect of an ionic liquid namely, 1-methyl-3-octadecyl-imidazolium bromide (C18mimBr), on molybdenum ion (Mo(vi)) and pyrogallol red (PGR) complex. The ternary complex of Mo-PGR-C18mimBr displays a distinct absorption peak with excellent analytical characteristics and offers the advantages of simplicity for the determination of Mo(vi) ions, without any need for a solvent extraction step. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method were calculated as 0.74 ng mL-1 and 2.47 ng mL-1 respectively. The method was validated and applied successfully to the determination of Mo(vi) ions in real water samples. The interference of ferric ions was shown to be removed from samples with less ionic content by using an ion exchange resin prior to the analysis, and the performance of the method was compared with that of ICP-MS. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.