A simple and selective approach for determination of trace Hg(II) using electromembrane extraction followed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

The present study proposes the determination of trace Hg(II) using electromembrane extraction followed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). Hg(II) migrated from 5 mL of an aqueous donor phase across a thin layer of supported liquid membrane, immobilized inside pores of a hollow fiber, into 10 μL of an acidic acceptor phase present inside the lumen of the fiber. The final analysis of the extracted Hg(II) performed using GFAAS (350 °C and 1400 °C for the ashing and atomization temperatures, respectively). Under optimal conditions, Hg(II) was effectively extracted with recoveries in the range of 41–43%, which corresponded to enrichment factors in the range of 102–108. The calibration curve was investigated in the range of 0.5–10 μg/L and a good linearity was achieved with a coefficient factor of 0.998. Detection limit (3σ) was found to be 0.5 μg/L and repeatability for 5 replicate determinations of three different concentration level of Hg(II) were found to be within the range of 6.2–7.1%. The reliability of the proposed method was examined by analyzing different real waters samples. - Highlights: • A selective combination of EME and GFAAS was introduced for the determination of trace Hg(II). • Low limit of detection, short extraction time and high degree of selectivity was obtained. • The accuracy of the proposed method was verified using cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy. • The proposed method was satisfactorily applied to analysis of water samples.