Sorption-catalytic determination of cadmium using bromobenzothiazo noncovalently bound to silica and paper.

Cadmium (along with Fe(II), Co(II), Zn(II), and Pb(II) ions) decreases the rate of oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) with KIO4 conducted either without or with Mn(II) as a catalyst. Cadmium(II) is preconcentrated from aqueous solutions on silica plates or paper filters physically modified with a reagent for selective determination of Cd(II), namely 1-[(6-bromo-2-benzothiazolyl)azo]-2-naphthol (bromobenzothiazo, or BBT). The modifier is strongly retained on the both supports at pH 6-10 and does not affect the inhibiting effect of Cd(II) in the indicator reaction. Cadmium is determined by its inhibiting action directly on the sorbents by measuring transmittance (BBT/paper) or reflectance (BBT/silica) with limits of detection of 2 x 10(-4) and 0.03 mg/L, respectively. The proposed hybrid combination of sorption with catalytic detection on the sorbent allows to increase the selectivity factors several times (up to 2 orders) relatively to the determination in solution. Tap water samples and soil extracts were analyzed.