An online solid phase extraction method for the determination of ultratrace level phosphate in water with a high performance liquid chromatograph

• A method was developed to detect ultratrace level phosphate with HPLC.
• This method does not require other specially designed sophisticated instruments.
• The LOD for orthophosphate was 0.15 μg PO4 l− 1.

Phosphorous monitoring is important for eutrophication control in aquatic ecosystems, but ultratrace level concentrations may not be detected by conventional analytical methods. A method for measuring ultratrace level phosphate by online solid-phase extraction combined with HPLC was developed. A short column (50 mm) packed with octadecylsilane (ODS) was used for extraction of phosphoantimonylmolybdenum blue and dodecyltrimethylammonium hydrophobic ion-pair complexes. The ion-pair complexes entrapped on the ODS column were eluted with CH3CN/H2O (35/65; flow rate, 1.0 ml min− 1) and monitored by an ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometer (λ = 872 nm). Phosphate concentration was determined from the peak area of the ion pair. The limit of detection for orthophosphate was 0.15 μg PO4 l− 1 and the dynamic range was 0.15–100 μg PO4 l− 1. Although our method was susceptible to silicate interference, it could be corrected by a proposed interference correction equation.

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