Colorimetric determination of copper(II) ions by filtration on sol–gel membrane doped with diphenylcarbazide

A simple and sensitive colorimetric method for the determination of trace copper(II) ions in aqueous solution has been developed using diphenylcarbazide (DPC) immobilized sol–gel matrices. To enhance the odds of chelating interactions between copper(II) ions and DPC, a peristaltic pump was utilized to drive copper(II) ions solution pass through the cellulose acetate/nitrate membrane, which was coated with DPC immobilized sol–gel matrices. The membrane was sandwiched in a home-made flow cell. The porous silica matrix serves as a preconcentrator, and enriches the trace copper(II) ions. Meanwhile, the filtration increases the chelating interaction probability between copper(II) ions and DPC, thereby improves the sensitivity significantly. After the formation of purple complex compound, the color changes of the DPC immobilized sol–gel membrane were recorded using a flatbed scanner. The images were digitized, and the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) values were investigated. The colorimetric method provides a rapid and reliable determination of trace copper(II) ions with a detection limit as low as 0.16 μM and a kinetic range up to 1.6 μM in neutral medium. Moreover, the method shows good selectivity, and the color changes of the DPC immobilized sol–gel membranes are remarkable for the copper(II) ions detection even in the presence of other metal ions.