Biacetyl bis(4-phenyl-3-thiosemicarbazone) as a reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of copper

Abstract

The synthesis, characteristics and analytical applications of biacetyl bis-(4-phenyl-3-thiosemicarbazone)(BBPT) are described. The reaction between copper(II) and BBPT has been studied by spectrophotometry. The reddish orange 1 : 1 copper-BBPT complex (ε= 12.7 × 10³ l mol^–1 cm^–1 at 485 nm and 8.2 × 10³ l mol^–1 cm^–1 at 530 nm) is formed at pH 1.8–11.9, in a solution containing 60%V/V of dimethylformamide. The effect of interferences was studied. A rapid and simple method for the spectrophotometric determination of copper in a white metal, in blende and in a waste water has been devised. The method is compared with others proposed for the spectrophotometric determination of copper with thiosemicarbazone reagents.