Preparation of ion exchange films for solid-phase spectrophotometry and solid-phase fluorometry

Atomic spectroscopy has dominated the field of trace inorganic analysis because of its high sensitivity and selectivity. The advantages gained by the atomic spectroscopies come with the disadvantage of expensive and often complicated instrumentation. Solid-phase spectroscopy, in which the analyte is preconcentrated on a solid medium followed by conventional spectrophotometry or fluorometry, requires less expensive instrumentation and has considerable sensitivity and selectivity. The sensitivity gains come from preconcentration and the use of chromophore (or fluorophore) developers and the selectivity is achieved by use of ion exchange conditions that favor the analyte in combination with speciative chromophores. Little work has been done to optimize the ion exchange medium (IEM) associated with these techniques. In this paper we present a method for making ion exchange polymer films which considerably simplify the solid-phase spectroscopic techniques. They are mechanically sturdy and optically transparent in the ultraviolet and visible portion of the spectrum, which makes them suitable for spectrophotometry and fluorometry.