On-line separation and preconcentration of inorganic arsenic and selenium species in natural water samples with CTAB-modified alkyl silica microcolumn and determination by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry

A new, simple, and selective method has been presented for the separation and preconcentration of inorganic arsenic (As(III)/As(V)) and selenium (Se(IV)/Se(VI)) species by a microcolumn on-line coupled with inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Trace amounts of As(V) and Se(VI) species were separated and preconcentrated from total As and Se at desired pH values by a conical microcolumn packed with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-modified alkyl silica sorbent in the absence of chelating reagent. The species adsorbed by CTAB-modified alkyl silica sorbent were quantitatively desorbed with 0.10 ml of 1.0 mol l−1 HNO3. Total inorganic arsenic and selenium were similarly extracted after oxidation of As(III) and Se(IV) to As(V) and Se(VI) with KMnO4 (50.0 μmol l−1). The assay of As(III) and Se(IV) were based on subtracting As(V) and Se(VI) from total As and total Se, respectively. All parameters affecting the separation/preconcentration of As(V) and Se(VI) including pH, sample flow rate and volume, eluent solution and volume have been studied. With a sample volume of 3.0 ml, the sample throughput was 24 h−1 and the enrichment factors for As(V) and Se(VI) were 26.7 and 27.6, respectively. The limits of detection (LODs) were 0.15 μg l−1 for As(V) and 0.10 μg l−1 for Se(VI). The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for nine replicate determinations at 5.0 μg l−1 level of As(V) and Se(VI) were 4.0% and 3.6%, respectively. The calibration graphs of the method for As(V) and Se(VI) were linear in the range of 0.5–1000.0 μg l−1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9936 and 0.9992, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to the speciation analysis of inorganic arsenic and selenium in natural water samples with satisfactory results.