Trace Level Determination of Cadmium in Different Water Matrices and Rose Hip Tea Sample by Dispersive Liquid-liquid Microextraction Slotted Quartz Tube Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry After Complexation With a New Imidazole-based Ligand

Abstract

This study presents a sensitive, accurate, and precise analytical method for the determination of cadmium in water samples. A laboratory synthesized imidazole-based ligand (2-(4-methylphenyl)1H-imidazo-[4,5-f]-[1,10]-phenanthroline) was used to form a cadmium complex for extraction by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLM). Optimization of complexation, extraction, and instrumental parameters led to a 74-fold enhancement in the detection power of FAAS. The limits of detection and quantification were found at 0.57 and 1.9 mu g/L, respectively. The relative standard deviation of the method was less than 5.0%, indicating high precision for the experimental process. Accuracy and applicability of the method were tested on environmental (tap, well, and wastewater) and drink (rose hip tea) samples at different spiking concentrations, and satisfactory recovery results were obtained between 88 and 112%.