Masking Agents Evaluation for Lead Determination by Flow Injection-Hydride Generation-Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry Technique: Effect of KI, L-Cysteine, and 1,10-Phenanthroline

Hydride generation (HG) of lead technique presents interferences from foreign ions of complex matrix samples. In order to minimize these interferences, the effect of masking agents such as KI, L-cysteine, and 1,10-phenanthroline was studied in the absence and in the presence of selected interfering species (As, Cr, Cu, and Fe). Different modes of addition of masking agents were accomplished, that is, to either sample or KBH4 reducing solution. The lead determinations were performed using a flow injection analysis (FIA) system coupled to HG and atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS). The linearity of calibration curves (1-10 μg Pb L(-1)) was not affected by the addition of the masking agents. The use of KI in the reducing solution diminished interferences from concentrations of As and Cu, while 1,10-phenanthroline showed a positive effect on the interference by As. Moreover, Cr and Cu appeared to be the most serious interfering ions for plumbane (PbH4), because they drastically reduced the analytical signal of lead. Fe did not present any interference under the employed experimental conditions, even at high levels. The accuracy was established through the analysis of certified reference material (i.e., BCR-610, groundwater) using KI as masking agent. The detection limit reached by FIA-HG-AFS proposed methodology was 0.03 μg Pb L(-1).