Study and Elimination of the Interference of Aluminium on the Voltammetric Determination of Uranium with Chloranilic Acid. Application to the Determination of Uranium in Waters and Geological Samples

The interference of aluminium during the voltammetric determination of uranium with 2,5-dichloro-3,6-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone (chloranilic acid) has been investigated. The presence of aluminium originates a voltammetric signal due to its chloranilic acid complex at the same potential range as the uranium analytical signal appears. The interference of aluminium can be overcome by addition of an appropriate amount of sodium fluoride as complexing reagent. The determination of uranium by adsorptive stripping voltammetry (AdSV) can be carried out at concentration levels as low as 1 μg/L in the presence of 100 μg/L aluminium after the addition of 100μL of 0.1 mol/L NaF. The method can be applied to the determination of uranium in aluminium-containing waters and geological samples containing high aluminium levels. (Author) 19 refs