Determination of ultra trace amounts of copper by a multi-injection technique of electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry after using solid-phase extraction.

A new method using a multi-injection technique combined with SPE was developed for the determination of copper (Cu) in environmental samples. The method is based on SPE of copper ions on naphthalene as its 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)- 5-diethylaminophenol (5-Br-PADAP)-ammonium tetraphenylborate complex, in the pH range 6.0-9.5, and determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. No chemical modifier is required in the graphite furnace. The detection limit can be reduced to 1.5 ng/L using an injection volume of 25.0 μL (five 5.0 μL) without interference by the matrixes. The optimum pyrolysis and atomization temperatures were 500 and 2200°C, respectively, for the concentrated solution of Cu. The sensitivity for 1% absorption was 2.6 pg Cu. Eight replicate determinations for 0.1 μg Cu in 5.0mL dimethylformamide gave an RSD of 2.3% for a single injection and 2.7% for a multi-injection. The procedure was validated with certified reference materials and successfully applied to the determination of copper in water and plant samples.