Quantification of free and weakly bound cyanide in water using infrared spectroscopy.

We report a simple method for the detection of polyatomic anions in water. The approach involves precipitation of the polyatomic anion using simple monoatomic cations followed by collection of the particles on an infrared transparent membrane for quantification by infrared spectroscopy. The approach is demonstrated with the detection of free and weakly bound cyanide in water.