Silver diethyldithiocarbamate method

Merry and Zarcinas [33] have described a silver diethyldithiocarbamate method for the determination of arsenic and antimony in soil. The method involves the addition of sodium tetrahydroborate to an acid-digested sample which has been treated with hydroxylammonium chloride to prevent the formation of insoluble antimony compounds. The generated arsine and stib-ine react with a solution of silver diethyldithiocarbamate in pyridine in a gas washtube. Absorbance is measured twice at wavelengths of 600 and 504 nm. 

Figure 2. Annual average daily intake of arsenic (as As Os) in the US. total diet as a function of the method of analysis Mo blue = molybdenum blue method AgDDC = silver diethyldithiocarbamate method A A hydride = arsine evolution, atomic absorption determination.

In a further method the sample is heated in a sealed tube for 5 min with a mixture (3 + 1) of magnesium and magnesium oxide, which converts all the arsenic into magnesium arsenide On decomposition by dilute sulphuric acid, arsine is evolved and is absorbed in a 0.5% solution of silver diethyldithiocarbamate (AgDDC) in pyridine. The colour produced has an absorption maximum at 560 nm and is proportional to concentration up to 20 fig of arsenic in 3 ml of solution. Alternatively, the arsine is oxidized by bromine and determined iodimetrically. 

Preconcentration of As(III) diethyldithiocarbamate on silica chemically modified with hexadecyl groups was examined [1]. Emulsion liquid membrane (made up of L113A surfactant, liquid paraffin as stabilizer and kerosene as solvent with HCl and KOH as external and internal phases) separation of As(III) and As(V) was applied prior to detection with silver diethyldithiocarbamate ( =510 nm) [2]. The method was applied to Cu ore and slagged ash. 

Gravimetric methods and chemical methods, such as colorimetric measurements based on the arsenic-molybdenum blue complex (1,2,3) and arsine generation in combination with silver diethyldithiocarbamate (4, 5, 6,7), have been used to measure arsenic in aqueous media. Various instrumental methods such as differential pulse polarography (8), heated vaporization atomic absorption (9), arsine generation in combination with atomic absorption spectroscopy (10, 11, 12) or non-dispersive atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (13), and optical emission spectroscopy (14) can be used to determine arsenic in aqueous solutions. 

Colorimetric methods need no high technical support. They are cheap and sufficient to detect poisoning. Mostly silver diethyldithiocarbamate (AgDEXT) solved in pyridine (0.5%) is used. It... 

Other methods for separating silver involve extraction of the diethyldithiocarbamate into chloroform [pH 4-11 (EDTA as masking agent)] [1]. The thiocyanate complex of silver can be extracted from 0.1-1 M solutions of H2SO4, HCl, or HCIO4 into TBP [2]. 

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