Single-sweep polarography of the copper(II)-3-hydroxy-1-p-sulphonatophenyl-3-phenyltriazene complex and its analytical applications

Abstract

A polarographic investigation of the copper-3-hydroxy-1-p-sulphonatophenyl-3-phenyltriazene (HSPT) complex in 0.05 M sodium tetraborate medium is described and a simple and sensitive single-sweep polarographic method for the determination of trace amounts of copper in biological samples is proposed. The complex was shown to be Cu(HSPT)₂ with logβ′= 11.38. The polarographic wave is caused by the reduction of copper(II) in the adsorbed complex to copper amalgam on the surface of a mercury electrode. The current peak is directly proportional to the concentration of copper in the range 8.0 × 10^–9–4.0 × 10^–6M and the detection limit is 5.0 × 10^–9M.