Abstract

A simple and reproducible method for the rapid extraction and determination of trace amounts of Cd(II) ions using mesoporous organo-silicas mesoporous silica and atomic absorption spectrometry is  presented. Common coexisting ions did not interfere with the separation and determination. The preconcentration factor was 100 (1 ml elution volume) for a 100 ml sample volume. The limit of detection of the proposed method is 0.7 ng L⁻¹. The maximum sorption capacity of sorbent under optimum conditions has been found to be 5 mg of Cd per gram of sorbent. The relative standard deviation under optimum conditions was 3.0% (n = 10). Accuracy and application of the method was estimated by using test samples of natural and synthetic water spiked with different amounts of Cd(II) ion.

Key words: Preconcentration, Cd(II), mesoporous organo-silica, solid phase extraction, flame atomic absorption spectrometry  (FAAS).