| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1244132 | Talanta | 2015 | 7 Pages |
•A fully automated, portable and fast monitor for uranium(VI) was developed.•Liq-liq microextraction with cyanex-272 prior spectrophotometric detection was used.•System drastically reduces the reagents, contributing to reduce the environmental impact.•Main traits are selectivity, low operational and instrumentation costs and robustness.•The proposed monitor can be used as a powerful tool especially in times of emergency.
A fully automated in-syringe (IS) magnetic stirring assisted (MSA) liquid-liquid microextraction (LLME) method for uranium(VI) determination was developed, exploiting a long path-length liquid waveguide capillary cell (LWCC) with spectrophotometric detection. On-line extraction of uranium was performed within a glass syringe containing a magnetic stirrer for homogenization of the sample and the successive reagents: cyanex-272 in dodecane as extractant, EDTA as interference eliminator, hydrochloric acid to make the back-extraction of U(VI) and arsenazo-III as chromogenic reagent to accomplish the spectrophotometric detection at 655 nm. Magnetic stirring assistance was performed by a specially designed driving device placed around the syringe body creating a rotating magnetic field in the syringe, and forcing the rotation of the stirring bar located inside the syringe.The detection limit (LOD) of the developed method is 3.2 µg L−1. Its good interday precision (Relative Standard Deviation, RSD 3.3%), and its high extraction frequency (up to 6 h−1) makes of this method an inexpensive and fast screening tool for monitoring uranium(VI) in environmental samples. It was successfully applied to different environmental matrices: channel sediment certified reference material (BCR-320R), soil and phosphogypsum reference materials, and natural water samples, with recoveries close to 100%.
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