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Cobalt Determination in Soils by Spectrographic Analysis Following Chemical Preconcentration
Author(s) -
Carrigan R. A.,
Erwin T. C.
Publication year - 1951
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1951.036159950015000c0031x
Subject(s) - biochemist , library science , chemist , soil water , chemistry , environmental science , computer science , art , classics , soil science , organic chemistry
THE need for a highly sensitive method for determining cobalt in sandy soils was indicated by the fact that Rogers et al. (9) were unable to detect this element in soils from 77 locations in the Florida, peninsula by a spectrographic method in which ignited, powdered soil was volatilized directly from the direct current arc. Obviously, some method of concentrating the cobalt is necessary in order to get the desired sensitivity. As suggested by Mitchell and Scott (8), concentrating the traces of heavy metals from the bulk of the sample has the additional advantage of eliminating the disturbing effects produced by the major constituents in the subsequent spectrographic procedure. The present investigation was undertaken to explore the possibility of using dithizone as a reagent for concentrating cobalt and, ulti. mately, other heavy metals for spectrographic analysis. The concentration procedure was adapted from the method of Sandell and Perlich (12). Several workers (4, 5, 11) have determined cobalt in soils after preliminary concentration with dithizone. Thomson employed dithizone to separate cobalt from iron, using tartrate to prevent the precipitation of iron in the presence of excess ammonia. Marston and Dewey (7) have studied the effects of pH, complex-forming anions, and the nature of the organic solvent on the distribution of cobalt between the aqueous and organic layers in a dithizone extraction. Rohner (10) proposed the use of dithizone for concentrating traces of heavy metals for spark spectrographic analysis. Mitchell and Scott (8) have determined cobalt and other metals by the spectrographic analysis of a concentrate obtained by simultaneously precipitating all of these metals with a mixture of organic reagents.