Preconcentration of trace metals in environmental samples by Amberlite XAD-16 coated with triazole and determination by ICP-AES

Full text: A new ligand, 3-(3-nitrophenyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5(4H)-thione (NPTT) was synthesized and used for the functionalization of amberlite XAD-16 resin. Amberlite XAD-NPTT was characterized by IR, NMR spectral studies. Application of the functionalized resin for the solid phase extraction (SPE) of Ni(II), Cu(II), Cd(II) and Zn from water prior to their determination by Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) was investigated. Several parameters like the effect of pH, effect of sample volume and flow rate, concentration of eluent, sorption capacity and the effect of diverse ions on the sorption of analytes were investigated. All the metal ions were quantitatively retained by the functionalized resin at pH 5.0 and sorbed metals were eluted with 1.5 M HNO3. The detection limits were 0.4, 0.4, 0.1, 0.5 μg L-1 for nickel, copper, cadmium and zinc respectively. The method was applied for the determination of trace metal ions in sea water and natural water samples