Laser induced thermal lens spectrometry for cobalt determination after cloud point extraction Original Research Article

A new approach, employing cloud point extraction (CPE) in combination with thermal lens spectrometry (TLS), has been developed for the determination of cobalt. The CPE and TLS methods have good matching conditions for combination because TLS is suitable for low volume samples obtained after CPE and for organic solvents, which are used for dissolving the remaining analyte phase. 1-(2-Pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) was used as a complexing agent and octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X-114) was added as a surfactant; then the pH of solution was adjusted. After phase separation at 50 °C based on the cloud point extraction of the mixture, the surfactant-rich phase was dried and the remaining phase was dissolved using 20 μL of carbon tetrachloride. The obtained solution was introduced into the quartz micro cell and the analyte was determined by thermal lens spectrometry. The He–Ne laser (632.8 nm) was used as both the probe and the excite source. Under optimum conditions, the analytical curve was linear for the concentration range of 0.2–40 ng mL−1 and the detection limit was 0.03 ng mL−1. The enhancement factor of 470 was achieved for a 10 mL sample. Relative standard deviations were lower than 5%. The method was successfully applied to the extraction and determination of cobalt in tap, river and sea water.