Abstract
A rapid, simple, selective, and sensitive method for trace determination of Zr (IV) has been developed based on the reaction of 1,4-dichloro-2,5-dihydroxyquinone in a hydrochloric acid medium to form a colored complex which is rendered water soluble by the micellar action of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) and measured at lambda(max) 331 nm. Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration range 0-5 mu g.ml(-1). The molar absorptivity of the complex,. was found to be 1.6 x10(4) L.mol(-1) cm(-1) and Sandell's sensitivity was found to be 5.7 ng.cm(-2). A method for determination of Zr (IV) by second derivative spectrophtometry has also been proposed. The detection limit of Zr (IV) in the derivative method is 6 times lower than that of the zero order method, which shows the higher sensitivity of the derivative method. The method has been applied for determination of Zr (IV) in various samples, and satisfactory results have been obtained.