Preconcentration of Cd(II) and Cu(II) ions by coprecipitation without any carrier element in some food and water samples

A simple, rapid, sensitive and environmentally friendly separation and preconcentration procedure, based on the carrier element free coprecipitation (CEFC) of Cu(II) and Cd(II) ions by using an organic coprecipitant, 2-{[4-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-sulphanyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl]methyl}-4-{[(4-fluorophenyl) methylene]amino}-5-(4-methylphenyl)-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one (MEFMAT) was developed. The analyte ions were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometric (FAAS) determinations. The optimum conditions for the coprecipitation process were investigated on several commonly tested experimental parameters such as pH of the solution, amount of MEFMAT, sample volume, standing time, centrifugation rate and time. The influences of some anions, cations and transition metals on the recoveries of analyte ions were also investigated, and no considerable interference was observed. The preconcentration factor was found to be 50. The detection limits for Cu(II) and Cd(II) ions based on the three times the standard deviation of the blanks (N:10) were found to be 1.49 and 0.45μgL-1, respectively. The relative standard deviations were found to be lower than 3.5% for both analyte ions. The method was validated by analyzing two certified reference materials (CRM-TMDW-500 Drinking Water and CRM-SA-C Sandy Soil C) and spike tests. The procedure was successfully applied to sea water and stream water as liquid samples and tobacco, hazelnut and black tea as solid samples.