Solid-phase Extraction Using Modified Carbon Nanotube and Cupferron Ligand for Preconcentration and Determination of Trace Amounts of Copper in Real Samples

A solid phase extraction procedure for simultaneous separation and preconcentration of traceamounts of Cu+2 ion from various real samples prior to its determination by flame atomicabsorption spectrometry has been developed. The proposed method is based on the utilization ofmultiwalled carbon nanotube in combination with Cupferron ligand as a solid phaseextractant. The influences of the analytical parameters, including pH, amounts of ligand andadsorbent, sample volume, volume and concentration of eluent, flow rates of solution and ,interference effects from the foreign metal ions were investigated for the optimum recoveries of theanalyte ion. The optimum pH for the separation of Cu+2 ion on the new sorbent was 7.0. Therelative standard deviation (RSDs) and the recoveries of standard addition for this method werelower than 5 % and 95-100 %, respectively. A sample volume of 200 mL resulted in apreconcentration factor of 100. The proposed procedure was successfully applied to thedetermination of copper in various real samples with satisfactory results.