Analyser of chromium and/or cobalt Original Research Article

Two stopped-flow manifolds have been proposed for individual or simultaneous determination of chromium and cobalt in water samples. Automated procedures based on multicommutation systems have emphasised the differences of their catalytic effect in luminol–hydrogen peroxide chemiluminescence reaction. A more rapid decay of signal was observed for Co for both configurations (flow injection or continuous injection). The influence of chemical and hydrodynamic variables has been studied in order to establish the robustness of method. The analysis rate was lower 1.5 min per replicate. Chemometric tools have been employed for the resolution of their contributions. Partial least squares (PLS) and H-point standard additions method (HPSAM) were used as multivariate calibration models. The percentages of explained variance were 97–99% (two factors). PLS and HPSAM obtained similar results. HPSAM provided a simple calibration model contributing to develop an analyser for chromium and/or cobalt. Standard mixtures, spiked samples and a certified reference material validated the proposed strategy. The applicability has been demonstrated by the determination of Cr and Co concentration in different water samples. The best results have been obtained for continuous injection providing more robust predictions. The achieved detection limit was 0.2 μg/l for both metals.