Extractive Spectrophotometric Determination and Theoretical Investigations of Two New Vanadium(V) Complexes.

Two new vanadium (V) complexes involving 6-hexyl-4-(2-thiazolylazo)resorcinol (HTAR) and tetrazolium cation were studied. The following commercially available tetrazolium salts were used as the cation source: tetrazolium red (2,3,5-triphenyltetrazol-2-ium;chloride, TTC) and neotetrazolium chloride (2-[4-[4-(3,5-diphenyltetrazol-2-ium-2-yl)phenyl]phenyl]-3,5-diphenyltetrazol-2-ium;dichloride, NTC). The cations (abbreviated as TT+ and NTC+) impart high hydrophobicity to the ternary complexes, allowing vanadium to be easily extracted and preconcentrated in one step. The complexes have different stoichiometry. The V(V)-HTAR-TTC complex dimerizes in the organic phase (chloroform) and can be represented by the formula [(TT+)[VO2(HTAR)]]2. The other complex is monomeric (NTC+)[VO2(HTAR)]. The cation has a +1 charge because one of the two chloride ions remains undissociated: NTC+ = (NT2+Cl-)+. The ground-state equilibrium geometries of the constituent cations and final complexes were optimized at the B3LYP and HF levels of theory. The dimer [(TT+)[VO2(HTAR)]]2 is more suitable for practical applications due to its better extraction characteristics and wider pH interval of formation and extraction. It was used for cheap and reliable extraction-spectrophotometric determination of V(V) traces in real samples. The absorption maximum, molar absorptivity coefficient, limit of detection, and linear working range were 549 nm, 5.2 × 104 L mol-1 cm-1, 4.6 ng mL-1, and 0.015-2.0 µg mL-1, respectively.

Spectrophotometric Determination of Molybdenum(VI) as a Ternary Complex with 4-Nitrocatechol and Benzalkonium Chloride.

A new liquid-liquid extraction system for molybdenum(VI) was studied. It contains 4-nitrocatechol (4NC) as a complexing chromogenic reagent and benzalkonium chloride (BZC) as a source of heavy cations (BZ+), which are prone to form chloroform-extractable ion-association complexes. The optimum conditions for the determination of trace molybdenum(VI) were found: concentrations of 4NC and BZC (7.5 × 10-4 mol dm-3 and 1.9 × 10-4 mol dm-3, respectively), acidity (3.75 × 10-2 mol dm-3 H2SO4), extraction time (3 min), and wavelength (439 nm). The molar absorptivity, limit of detection, and linear working range were 5.5 × 104 dm3 mol-1 cm-1, 5.6 ng cm-3, and 18.6-3100 µg cm-3, respectively. The effect of foreign ions was examined, and the developed procedure was applied to the analysis of synthetic mixtures and real samples (potable waters and steels). The composition of the extracted complex was 1:1:2 (Mo:4NC:BZ). Three possible structures of its anionic part [MoVI(4NC)O2(OH)2]2- were discussed based on optimizations at the B3LYP/3-21G level of theory, and simulated UV/Vis absorption spectra were obtained with the TD Hamiltonian.

Extraction-Chromogenic System for Cobalt Based on 5-Methyl-4-(2-thiazolylazo) Resorcinol and Benzalkonium Chloride.

The interaction between CoII and 5-methyl-4-(2-thiazolylazo)-resorcinol (MTAR) was studied in a water-chloroform system, in the presence or absence of benzalkonium chloride (BZC) as a cationic ion-association reagent. The optimum pH, concentration of the reagents and extraction time for the extraction of Co were found. In the presence of BZC, the extracted ion-associate could be represented by the formula (BZ+)[CoIII(MTAR2-)2], where MTAR is in its deprotonated form. The following extraction-spectrophotometric characteristics were determined: absorption maximum, molar absorptivity, Sandell's sensitivity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, constant of extraction, distribution ratio and fraction extracted. In the absence of BZC, the extraction is incomplete and occurs in a narrow pH range. The extracted chelate contains one deprotonated and one monoprotonated ligand: [CoIII(MTAR2-)(HMTAR-)].

Extraction-Chromogenic System for Nickel(II) Based on 5-methyl-4-(2-thiazolylazo)resorcinol and Aliquat 336.

A water-isobutanol extraction-chromogenic system for NiII, based on the azo dye 5-methyl-4-(2-thiazolylazo)resorcinol (MTAR; H2L) and the ionic liquid Aliquat 336 (A336), was studied. Under the optimal conditions (cMTAR = 2.0 × 10-4 mol dm-3, cA336 = 5.6 × 10-3 mol dm-3, pH 8.5 and extraction time t = 1 min), NiII is extracted as a ternary complex which can be represented by the formula (A336+)2[Ni(L2-)2]. In the absence of A336, or in a slightly acidic medium, a binary complex, [Ni(HL-)2], with an absorption maximum at l = 548 nm and a shoulder at 590 nm is formed. The following extraction-spectrophotometric characteristics were determined at the above-mentioned optimal conditions: lmax (545 nm), molar absorptivity (5.0 × 104 dm3 mol-1 cm-1), Sandell's sensitivity (1.2 × 10-3 ∆g cm-2), Beer's law limits (0.05-3.1 mg cm-3), constant of extraction (Log K = 6.1) and fraction extracted (99.2%). The effect of foreign ions was studied; the most serious interferences were caused by CoII, CuII and CrIII.

Complex Formation in a Liquid-Liquid Extraction System Containing Vanadium(IV/V), 2,3-Dihydroxynaphtahlene and Thiazolyl Blue.

Liquid-liquid extraction systems for VIV/V containing 2,3-dihydroxynaphtahlene (DN) and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (thiazolyl blue, MTT) were studied. The optimum conditions for VIV and VV extraction were found. VIV is extracted in chloroform as a 1:2:2 complex (V:DN:MTT) with lmax = 570 nm and e570 = 2.9´104 dm3 mol-1 cm-1. However, this wavelength was found unsuitable for precise spectrophotometric measurements due to time dependent absorbance changes. VV forms predominantly a 1:1:1 complex with lmax = 335 nm. The calibration graph for this oxidation state is linear in the range of 0.06-1.5 mg cm-3. The molar absorptivity, Sandell's sensitivity and limit of detection were calculated to be 1.6 ´ 104 dm3 mol-1 cm-1, 3.2 ng cm-2 and 0.02 mg cm-3, respectively. The ground-state equilibrium geometries of the anionic parts of the extracted ion-associates, [VIVO(DN2-)2]2-and [VVO2(DN2-)]-, were optimized at the BLYP/6-31++G* level of theory.

Liquid-Liquid Extraction-Chromogenic System for Vanadium(V) Based on 4-(2-thiazolylazo)orcinol (TAO) and Aliquat 336.

The quaternary ammonium salt Aliquat 336 (A336; R4N+Cl-) and the azo dye 4-(2-thiazolylazo)orcinol (ТАО) were examined as constituents of a water-isobutanol extraction-chromogenic system for vanadium(V). Under the optimum conditions (cTAO = 1.6´10-3 mol dm-3, cA336 = 1.3´10-2 mol dm-3 and pH 5.0), vanadium(V) is extracted as a ternary complex which can be represented by the formula (R4N+)[VO2(TAO2-)]. The key extraction-spectrophotometric characteristics were determined. The interfering effect of foreign ions was studied as well. The wavelength of maximum absorption (λmax), molar absorptivity (εmax), constant of extraction (Kex) and fraction extracted (E) were found to be λ = 547 nm, ε = 3.1×104 dm3 mol-1 cm-1, Log Kex = 2.8 and E = 90.2%, respectively. Beer's law was obeyed in the range of 0.084-2.0 mg cm-3 and the limit of detection was 25 ng cm-3 of vanadium(V).

A 2:2:2 Complex of Vanadium(V) with 4-(2-Thiazolylazo)orcinol and 2,3,5-Triphenyl-2H-Tetrazolium Chloride.

The complex formation in the vanadium(V)/4-(2-thiazolylazo)orcinol (TAO)/2,3,5-triphenyl-2H-tetrazolium chloride (TTC) liquid-liquid extraction-chromogenic system was studied. The chloroform-extracted complex has a composition of 2:2:2 under the optimum conditions (pH 4.8-5.2, extraction time 3 min, concentration of TAO 3.4 × 10(-4) mol dm(-3), and concentration of TTC 9.4 × 10(-4) mol dm(-3)) and could be regarded as a dimer (D) of two 1:1:1 species (S) presented by the formula (TT+)[VO2(TAO)]. The constant of extraction was calculated by two methods and some analytical characteristics were determined. The wavelength of maximum absorption (λmax), molar absorptivity (ελ) and fraction extracted (E) were found to be λ = 545 nm, ε545 = 1.97 × 10(4) dm(3) mol(-1) cm(-1), and E = 97.9%. The ground-state equilibrium geometries of the complexes S and D were optimized by quantum chemical Hartree-Fock calculations using 3-21G* basis functions. The bonding and interaction energies were calculated as well.