A sensitive and selective spectrophotometric method is proposed for the rapid determination of zinc(II) using an 8-hydroxyquinoline derivative, 7-(4-nitrophenylazo)-8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid (p-NIAZOXS), as a new spectrophotometric reagent. The reaction between the p-NIAZOXS and zinc(II) is instantaneous at pH 9.2 (borax buffer) and the absorbance remains stable for over 24 h. The method allows the determination of zinc over the range of 0.05-1.0 mug mL-1 with a molar absorptivity of 3.75x10(4) L mol-1 cm-1 and features a detection limit of 15 ng mL-1. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of zinc in several pharmaceutical preparations and copper alloys. The precision (R.S.D. < 2%) and the accuracy obtained were satisfactory.
7-(4-nitrophenylazo)-8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulphonic acid; zinc determination
