Solid phase extraction of copper traces using poly (styrene-divinylbenzene) membrane disks modified with pyridoxal salicyloylhydrazone in water samples

A simple technique for the isolation, concentration and matrix simplification of Cu(II) ion in natural waters is proposed. This method has been developed using poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) membrane disks modified with the synthesized ligand pyridoxal salicyloylhydrazone (PSH). The retained ions on the disks were eluted with 10mL 1mol L 1 HNO3 and measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry at 324.8nm. The influence of pH, amount of ligand, type and amount of eluent for the stripping of copper ion from the membrane over extraction efficiency were evaluated. Extraction efficiencies 499% were obtained by elution of the disks with minimal amount of solvent with a preconcentration factor up to 100. The precision of the method for 10 replicate measurements of aqueous solutions containing 40 mg L 1 Cu(II) was 1.5% at significance level of 95%. The breakthrough volume for 5 mg of Cu(II) was found to be 1000mL and the detection limit of the method was 4ngL 1 of metalion. The present method was successfully applied to the extraction and determination of copper in lake and sea waters