Flow-Injection Flame Atomic Absorption Determination of Hexavalent Chromium with On-Line Preconcentration on an Anion Imprinted Polymer

María Carmen Yebra-Biurrun, Jesús Manuel Castro-Romero, Nieves Carro-Mariño

Department of Analytical Chemistry, Escuela Universitaria Politécnica, University of A Coru?a, A Coru?a, Spain.
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Technological Institute for the Monitoring of the Maritime Environment of Galicia (INTECMAR), Vilagarcía de Arousa, Spain.

DOI: 10.4236/ajac.2012.311100                

Abstract

A flow injection preconcentration system for the flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of hexavalent chromium has been developed. The method employs on-line preconcentration of Cr(VI) on a minicolumn packed with Cr(VI)-imprinted poly(4-vinyl pyridineco-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) placed into a flow injection system. Hexava-lent chromium was eluted with a small volume of diluted hydrochloric acid into the nebulizer-burner system of a flame atomic absorption spectrometer. An enrichment factor of 550 and a 3σ detection limit of 0.04 μg·L^-1 along a sampling frequency of 4 h^-1 at a sample flow rate of 3.5 mL·min^-1. The relative standard deviation is 2.9% for 1 μg·L^-1 Cr(VI) (n = 11). The flow injection system proposed has the advantage of being simpler because the use of expensive and sophisticated instruments is avoided. Ease of use, continuous process and selectivity make this method suitable for Cr(VI) determination in different environmental samples such as sea and river waters, soils and sediments.

Keywords

Hexavalent Chromium; Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry; Preconcentration; Flow Injection; Environmental Samples

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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