Highly Selective Derivative Spectrophotometric Determination of Vanadium(V) in Steels, Minerals and Soil Samples

A simple, selective and sensitive spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of trace amounts of Vanadium(V) in acetic acid medium using a newly synthesized reagent acetoacetanilide salicyloylhydrazone (AASH). The molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity of the coloured species were found to be 1.20 x 104 L mol-1cm-1 and 4.2 ng cm-2 respectively. Beer's law is obeyed in the range 0.3 -3.0μ.g mL-1 of vanadium (V) at 405 nm. The stochiometry of the complex was found to be 1:1 (V (V): AASH). A highly selective first order derivative spectrophotometric method for the determination of vanadium is also reported. A calibration graph was derived by measuring first derivative amplitudes at 430 nm (trough depth). The metal ions which are normally associated with vanadium in minerals and alloys do not interfere. The developed procedure has been successfully applied for the trace level determination of vanadium in steels, minerals and soil samples.