On-line sequential injection dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction system for flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of copper and lead in water samples

A simple, sensitive and powerful on-line sequential injection (SI) dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) system was developed as an alternative approach for on-line metal preconcentration and separation, using extraction solvent at microlitre volume. The potentials of this novel schema, coupled to flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), were demonstrated for trace copper and lead determination in water samples. The stream of methanol (disperser solvent) containing 2.0% (v/v) xylene (extraction solvent) and 0.3% (m/v) ammonium diethyldithiophosphate (chelating agent) was merged on-line with the stream of sample (aqueous phase), resulting a cloudy mixture, which was consisted of fine droplets of the extraction solvent dispersed entirely into the aqueous phase. By this continuous process, metal chelating complexes were formed and extracted into the fine droplets of the extraction solvent. The hydrophobic droplets of organic phase were retained into a microcolumn packed with PTFE-turnings. A portion of 300 μL isobutylmethylketone was used for quantitative elution of the analytes, which transported directly to the nebulizer of FAAS. All the critical parameters of the system such as type of extraction solvent, flow-rate of disperser and sample, extraction time as well as the chemical parameters were studied. Under the optimum conditions the enhancement factor for copper and lead was 560 and 265, respectively. For copper, the detection limit and the precision (R.S.D.) were 0.04 μg L−1 and 2.1% at 2.0 μg L−1 Cu(II), respectively, while for lead were 0.54 μg L−1 and 1.9% at 30.0 μg L−1 Pb(II), respectively. The developed method was evaluated by analyzing certified reference material and applied successfully to the analysis of environmental water samples.