A new simple, rapid, sensitive, and selective method is proposed for the microdetermination of mercury. Mercury(II) forms insoluble complexes with 2,3-dichloro-6-(2-hydroxy-3,5-dinitrophenylazo)-quinoxaline (1), 2,3-dichloro-6-(5-amino-3-carboxy-2-hydroxy-phenylazo)-quinoxaline (2), 2,3-dichloro-6-(2,7-dihydroxynaphth-1-ylazo)-quinoxaline (3), and 2,3-dichloro-6-(3-carboxy-2-hydroxy-naphth-1-ylazo)-quinoxaline (4) in aqueous acidic medium; the complexes can be made soluble by the action of an anionic surfactant. The solution of the pink coloured compounds is stable for at least 24 h. Beer’s law is obeyed over the concentration range from 0.1 to 2.8 μg • cm−3 of mercury. For a more accurate analysis, Ringbom optimum concentration ranges were found to be 0.25–2.5 μg • cm−3. The molar absorpitivity, Sandell sensitivity, and relative standard deviations were also calculated. A slight interference from Pd2+ and Cd2+ is exhibited by the first three ligands, whereas the last one is only negligibly affected by these metal ions. Strong interference from Ag(I) is evident for all ligands, whereas alkali, alkaline earth, and other transition metals tested posed negligible interference. 15 μg • cm−3 of Cd2+ and Pd2+ or 10 μg • cm−3 of Ag+ can be tolerated if 1.0 mg of potassium bromide and 2.0 mg of citrate as masking agents are added for the determination of 1.5 μg • cm−3 of mercury(II). The method was applied to the determination of methyl- and ethylmercury chloride and the analysis of environmental water samples. |
