High-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection for the determination of vanadium(V) in river water and mussel samples

A highly sensitive method has been developed for the determination of vanadium(V) by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection at −0.60V vs. AgAgCl. The metal complex with N-phenylbenzohydroxamic acid was separated on a C18 (ODS) column; the mobile phase was a 1:1 (vv) mixture of acetonitrile-acetate buffer (0.02 mol l−1, pH 3.5) containing 0.05 mol l−1 potassium nitrate. The elution peak due to the vanadium(V) complex appeared on the chromatogram, and the peak height was proportional to the concentration of the metal ion in the range of 3.0 − 100.0ng ml−1. The detection limit for vanadium(V) was 1.0ng ml−1. The method has been applied to the determination of vanadium in two river water samples and one mussel homogenate with precise results.