The application of trimesic acid to the determination of terbium by spectrofluorimetry.
A sensitive, direct spectrofluorimetric method for the trace determination of terbium with use of trimesic acid (TMA) has been developed. The reaction conditions for the fluorescence system of terbium with TMA were studied. The terbium ion can form a stable binary chelate with TMA, having a ratio of 1:1 in the pH range 3.5-6.5. The maximum excitation and emission wavelengths are 260 nm and 545 nm for the terbium chelate, respectively. The reaction is instantaneous and the fluorescence intensity of the terbium chelate remains stable from 0.25 to 4 h. Under the optimal experimental conditions the fluorescence intensity is a linear function of concentration in the range 0.0248-6.35 mug ml(-1) of terbium. The relative standard deviation is still within +/-4% in the presence of one-thousandfold amounts of the other lanthanide ions, and common foreign ions hardly interfere in the determination. The method can be employed for the determination of trace amounts of terbium in rare earth ores or oxides because of its high sensitivity and selectivity with good reproducibility and accuracy.
Gao
J
J
Institute of Chemistry, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, People's Republic of China.
Zhao
G
G
Kang
J
J