Chemical speciation by flow-injection analysis. A review

Speciation of elements in natural matrices, especially of trace metals, is one of the predominant development trends of modern inorganic analysis. The main part of the conventional speciation procedures is a suitable combination of separation and chemical conversion steps, for which the most appropriate methodology seems to be the use of flow-injection. A shorter time of performance of these operations in flow-injection manifolds is advantageous in terms of avoiding the shift of chemical equilibria during the speciation measurement. Numerous other advantages are also pointed out in this review based on 58 references. Among flow-injection analysis methods published so far for speciation the determination of different oxidation states predominates, while a much smaller number of papers have been published on the determination of the degree of complexation or the determination of organometallic compounds.