Selectivity of catalytic methods of determination.
By means of catalytic analytical methods, extremely low levels can be determined at low cost and with a high sensitivity that is equal to that of physical methods of trace analysis. The selectivity of the catalytic determinations, is, however, usually rather lower than that of other methods of trace analysis. The selectivity can sometimes be improved by modification of the indicator reaction through variation of the reagents and their concentrations, or by use of masking reagents or activators, or by combination with a separation method. Modification of the indicator reaction can be exemplified by the selective determination of osmium and ruthenium by their catalysis of the nitrate oxidation of 1-naphthylamine. By variation of the nitrate concentration and the use of 1,10-phenanthroline and 8-hydroxyquinoline as complexing agents it is possible to determine these two elements simultaneously. An especially significant increase in the selectivity is made possible by use of a preliminary separation step. If the ion to be determined is separated by solvent extraction and then catalytically determined directly in the extract, a very specific determination is possible; this technique has been called "extractive catalytic determination". This method has been used for determination of molybdenum (0.5 ng/ml) in sea-water, iron (5 ng/ml) in heavy metal salts, and copper (3 ng/ml) in the presence of numerous elements.
Otto
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M
Department of Chemistry, Karl-Marx-University, Leipzig, GDR.
Mueller
H
H
Werner
G
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