Sensitive determination of cadmium in water samples by room temperature ionic liquid-based preconcentration and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A sensitive preconcentration methodology for Cd determination at trace levels in water samples was developed in this work. 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C4MIM][PF6]) room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) was successfully used for Cd preconcentration, as cadmium-2–(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol complex [Cd–5-Br-PADAP]. Subsequently, Cd was back-extracted from the RTIL phase with 500 μL of 0.5 mol L−1 nitric acid and determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). A preconcentration factor of 40 was achieved with 20 mL of sample. The limit of detection (LOD) obtained under optimum conditions was 3 ng L−1 and the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) for 10 replicates at 1 μg L−1 Cd2+ concentration level was 3.5%, calculated at peak heights. The calibration graph was linear from concentration levels near the detection limits up to at least 5 μg L−1. A correlation coefficient of 0.9997 was achieved. Validation of the methodology was performed by standard addition method and analysis of certified reference material (CRM). The method was successfully applied to the determination of Cd in river and tap water samples.