Ionic liquid surfactant sensitized spectroscopic method for the determination of zinc

► Ionic liquid surfactant (ILS) as sensitized agent for the spectroscopic method. ► ILS (C14mimBr) could obviously improve the sensitivity of Zn(II) analysis. ► εin C14mimBr 1.25 × 105 > εin H2O = 6.25 × 104 L·mol− 1·cm− 1. ► The mechanism of sensitizing effect was first discussed with CMC of ILS and KD.