AUTOMATED-METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF BORON IN WATER BY FLOW-INJECTION ANALYSIS WITH IN-LINE PRECONCENTRATION AND SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETECTION

A sensitive, automated method for the determination of boron in water samples is described, involving flow injection with on-line ion-exchange preconcentration and spectrophotometric detection of the azomethine-H-boron complex. The method is applicable to various water samples and is free from interferences, even in coloured samples. Detection limits of 5 μg l-1 at 20 samples h-1 and 1 μg l-1 at 10 samples h-1 with relative standard deviations of < 10% at 1-10 μg l-1 and < 5%at 10-200 μg l-1 levels of boron were achieved. The recoveries for spiked natural water samples ranged from 96 to 101%. The method compares favourably with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. © 1990.