Simultaneous determination of copper and manganese in plants by neutron-activation analysis

Abstract

By using the radioactivation technique, copper and manganese have been determined simultaneously in plant leaves.

A simplified and rapid procedure for the determination of both elements in plant leaves is presented. The copper and manganese in irradiated samples are separated by solvent extraction, the former being extracted with α-benzoinoxime-pyridine-chloroform and the latter with 8-hydroxyquinoline-chloroform.

The time required for radiochemical separation from the end of irradiation to counting is less than 1 hour for ten samples.

The precision of the method in the range of 0·1 to 0·2 p.p.m. is about ±5 per cent. The limits of detection calculated from the analysis of standard specimens are about 0·01 µg for copper and 0·001 µg for manganese.