Direct determination of ammoniacal nitrogen in water samples using corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry

In this study, direct determination of ammoniacal nitrogen residues in water samples using corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry (CD-IMS) was investigated. Pyridine was used as an alternate reagent gas to enhance selectivity and sensitivity of the method. The results indicate that the limit of detection (LOD) was about 9.2 × 10−3 μg mL−1 and the linear dynamic range was obtained from 0.03 to 2.00 μg mL−1. The relative standard deviation was about 11%. Furthermore, this method was successfully applied to the direct determination of ammoniacal nitrogen in river and tap water samples and the results were compared with the Nessler method. The comparison of the results validates the potential of the proposed method as an alternative technique for the analysis of the ammoniacal nitrogen in water samples.