Ligandless cloud point extraction of Cr(III), Pb(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Bi(III), and Cd(II) ions in environmental samples with Tween 80 and flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination

A cloud point extraction (CPE) procedure has been developed for the determination trace amounts of Cr(III), Pb(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Bi(III), and Cd(II) ions by using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The proposed cloud point extraction method was based on cloud point extraction of analyte metal ions without ligand using Tween 80 as surfactant. The surfactant-rich phase was dissolved with 1.0 mL 1.0 mol L−1 HNO3 in methanol to decrease the viscosity. The analytical parameters were investigated such as pH, surfactant concentration, incubation temperature, and sample volume, etc. Accuracy of method was checked analysis by reference material and spiked samples. Developed method was applied to several matrices such as water, food and pharmaceutical samples. The detection limits of proposed method were calculated 2.8, 7.2, 0.4, 1.1, 0.8 and 1.7 μg L−1 for Cr(III), Pb(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Bi(III), and Cd(II), respectively.