Micelle-mediated extraction for simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of aluminum and beryllium using mean centering of ratio spectra

A new micelle-mediated extraction method for preconcentration of ultra-trace quantities of beryllium and aluminum as a prior step to their simultaneous spectrophotometric determination has been developed. Chrome Azurol S (CAS), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and Triton X-114 were used as chelating agent, cationic, surfactant for extraction and co-extraction agent, respectively. Mean centering (MC) of ratio spectra has been used for simultaneous analysis of beryllium and aluminum. The optimal extraction and reaction conditions were studied, and the analytical characteristics of the method (e.g., limit of detection, linear range, preconcentration, and improvement factors) were obtained. Linearity was obeyed in the range of 5-40 ng mL(-1) of beryllium and 3-100 ng mL(-1) of aluminum. The detection limit of the method is 0.98 and 0.52 ng mL(-1) for beryllium and aluminum, respectively. The interference effect of some anions and cations was also tested. The method was applied to the simultaneous determination of beryllium in water samples. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.