Separation and Preconcentration of Trace Amounts of Lead Ion by Coacervative Extraction Method and Determination by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

In the present work, an efficient method was developed for the determination of lead in natural water samples. In this method, lead was extracted by octanoic acid reverse micelles (bulk phase) and measured by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS). Ligand 1-(2-Pyridylazo)-2-naphthol was used as a chelating agent. In order to obtain the best extraction results, some experimental parameters (such as pH, ligand concentration, ionic strength, etc.) affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated and optimized. Under optimal conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the concentration range of 2.5-200.0 μgL-1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998. The detection limit was 0.8 μgL-1 and the preconcentration factor was 50. This method was successfully used to measure lead in natural water samples.