Solid-phase extraction of trace Au(III) with SDG and determination by the catalytic spectrophotometric method

The new catalytic kinetic spectrophotometric method for Au(III) determination was developed and validated. It was based on the catalytic effect of gold on the oxidation of sudan red III by ammonium peroxodisulfate ((NH4)2S2O8) with nitrilo triacetic acid as an activator in microemulsion and H2SO4 medium. Under optimum conditions, there was the linearity of the calibration curve in the concentration range from 0 to 20 μg/L Au(III) at 520 nm. The relative standard deviation was 3.0% with a correlation coefficient of 0.9986. The detection limit achieved was 9.75 × 10−5 μg/mL. A new method using a column packed with sulfhydryl dextrose gel (SDG) as a solid-phase extractant has been developed for the preconcentration and separation of Au(III) ions. The method has been applied to the determination of trace gold with satisfactory results.