Determination of lead and cadmium using an ionic liquid and dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A procedure for the determination of ultratrace levels of lead and cadmium using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) has been developed. The ionic liquid, 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([C8MIm][NTf2]), is formed in situ and used to extract the lead and cadmium complexes with ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate. The very fine droplets of ([C8MIm][NTf2]) allow effective dispersion without the need for organic solvents. After centrifugation, the concentrations of lead and cadmium in the sedimented phase can be determined by ETAAS. Using a 10 mL aqueous sample, the enrichment factor of the procedure was 280 and detection limits of 0.2 and 3 ng L−1 were obtained for cadmium and lead, respectively. The relative standard deviations for 10 replicates at the 10 ng L−1 cadmium and 0.2 μg L−1 lead levels were 6.5 and 7.3%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of waters as well as to lixiviates obtained from toys made of plastic materials.