Comparative determination of copper(II) ions in surface water samples by voltammetry and ICP-spectrometry

Abstract

In this study, the copper (II) ions in surface water samples were determined with the help of differential pulse voltammetry using the complex activity of 5,5’-diphenylimidazolidine-2,4-dione derivative and both inductive coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma - mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The electrochemical reaction has been performed in acetate buffer solution (0.1 mol L-1; pH 5.25 ± 0.01) containing a ten-fold excess of the imidazolidine derivative toward copper (II) ion and the complex compound was determined following the redox process of the working hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) versus Ag/AgCl, 3mol L-1 KCl using as a reference electrode. The spectroscopic methods of determination by ICP-OES and ICP-MS were applied to the same samples to evaluate the effectiveness of the voltammetry procedure. A comparison of the results of these two analytical techniques was also made. The voltammetric method showed a lower limit of determination in comparison with ICP-OES but was commensurate with that of ICP-MS.