Determination of trace palladium in complicated matrices by displacement dispersive liquid-liquid mi.pdf

ORIGINAL PAPER Determination of trace palladium in complicated matrices by displacement dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry Pei Liang Ehong Zhao Received: 10 February 2011 /Accepted: 20 April 2011 /Published online: 4 May 2011 # Springer-Verlag 2011 Abstract We describe a method for displacement disper- sive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) along with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of Pd(II) in complex environmental samples. In this method, Cu(II) is first complexed with diethyldi- thiocarbamate (DDTC), and the resultant Cu-DDTC com- plex added to a sedimented phase and submitted to DLLME. In the second step, the sedimented phase is dispersed into the sample solution containing Pd, and another DLLME procedure is carried out. The Pd ions can displace Cu ions from the pre-extracted Cu-DDTC complex because the stability of the Pd-DDTC complex is higher than that of Cu-DDTC. As a result, Pd is preconcentrated. Potential interferences by transition metal ions of lower complex stability can be largely reduced as they cannot displace Cu from the Cu-DDTC complex. The tolerance limits for such ions are better by 2 to 4 orders of magnitude compared to conventional DLLME. The typical sample volume is 5 mL, and an enhancement factor of 96 and a detection limit (3 s) of 7.6 ng L-1 are achieved. Keywords Displacement dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction . Palladium . Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry . Environmental samples Introduction In recent years, palladium (Pd) has found a variety of applications including medicine and dentistry, electrical products, chemical industry, automotive industry and jewelry because of its attractive physical and chemical properties, and results in significant amounts of Pd being released into the environment which finally lead to bioaccumulation in the living organisms through diverse pathways [1–3]. So, the development of relia