A Test Method for the Determination of Mercury(I, II) on a Polymer Surface

It was found that mercury(I, II) reacts with 5-chloro-2-hydroxy-3-[(tetrahydro-2,4-dithioxo-1,3-thiazin-5-yl)azo]benzenesulphonic acid (tyrodine) in weakly acid solutions in the presence of acetates, formates, and some organic solvents (ethanol and acetone) to give an intensely colored insoluble compound (λmax = 600 nm, ε > 3 × 104). The composition of the solution affected the sensitivity of the color reaction between mercury and tyrodine. A test procedure was developed for the determination of mercury(I, II) on the surface of a polycaproamide membrane with a detection limit of <50 ng in the adsorbent zone. The procedure involves the quantitative and selective adsorption of the mercury complex of tyrodine on the support surface from 0.5 M acetate solutions of pH 3–4 in the dynamic mode; the sample volume was 5–25 mL. Mercury was then determined by the change in the support color using a color scale or by the change in diffuse reflectance at 600 nm. The adsorption of the mercury complex was accompanied by an abrupt change in the color of the support surface from pale crimson (reagent) to stable blue-violet. The test procedure was used in the analysis of an industrial sample of complex composition with a mercury concentration of lower than 0.05%. The determination error (relative standard deviation) was 20%.