Preconcentration via ion associated complexes combined with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry for determination of heavy metals

A method of separation and preconcentration of cadmium, cobalt, copper, nickel, lead and zinc at trace level from plant matrix using 2,2′-bipyridyl and rose Bengal is proposed. The above heavy metals were determined after preconcentration by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results were compared with those obtained using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (F-AAS). The influence of several parameters such as pH, molar ratio of 2,2′-bipyridyl to rose Bengal, duration of co-precipitation was examined. Moreover, effects of inorganic matrix on recovery of the determined elements were studied. The detection limits (DL) for ICP-OES were 0.36, 0.66, 3.3, 1.4, 3.5 and 3.2 μg L−1 for Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn, respectively, whereas for F-AAS DL were 0.77, 5.8, 1.1, 3.2, 3.0 and 0.71 μg L−1. The recovery of the method for the determined elements was better than 94% with relative standard deviation between 0.68% and 1.7%. The preconcentration factor was 40. The proposed method was applied for determination of Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in plant materials. Accuracy of the proposed method was verified using certified reference material (NCS ZC85006 Tomato).