Comparison of synchronous and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy applied to the Eu(III)-fulvate complexation

The complexation of europium ion (Eu(III)) with a soil fulvic acid (FA) has been studied at pH 5 in 0.01 M NaClO4 by different experimental methods, i.e. synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SyFS) and time resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). A series of SyFS quenching spectra was obtained by increasing the Eu(III) concentration and keeping the FA concentration constant. The emission spectra and fluorescence lifetimes of the Eu(III) bound to the FA were also measured by a TRLFS system using the same solution used in the SyFS spectral measurement. From the analysis of the fluorescence data obtained by the SyFS and the TRLFS using a non-linear least-squares method, the concentration of the binding sites (CL) of the FA accessible for the Eu(III) and the corresponding conditional stability constants (log K) were estimated. The two different methods gave rise to constants being comparable with one another. The log K and CL values (mean ± standard deviation of three determinations) determined by the SyFS were 6.4 ± 0.2 (6.7 ± 0.1 μmol L−1: by the TRLFS) and 10 ± 1 μmol L−1 (7 ± 1 μmol L−1: by the TRLFS), respectively. The applicability of the FA fluorescence quenching techniques for estimating the europium binding parameters was proved by the direct monitoring of the Eu(III) bound to the FA using the TRLFS system.