Determination of cadmium in water and environmental samples by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry after solid phase extraction using thiosemicarbazide derivative on alumina

A simple and selective method for the determination of cadmium ions in environmental samples by ICP-AES after solid-phase extraction was developed. The method is based on the sorption of Cd2+ ions on alumina modied by 1-((5-nitrofuran- 2-yl)) thiosemicarbazide (NFMTC) at pH of 6. The metal ion retained on solid phase by complexation with ligand was then eluted with 5.0 mL of 1 mol L??1 nitric acid. A preconcentration factor of 120 was achieved by passing 600 mL of sample through the solid phase, while the Limit Of Detection (LOD) was found to be 0.025 ng mL??1 and relative standard deviation of 2:2% (for 1.0 g mL??1), under optimum conditions. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of cadmium in water, soil, some food samples, and environmental samples including black tea, rice, wheat, carrot, pistachio and tobacco.