Kinetic Spectrophotometric Method for the Determination of Rhodium by Its Catalytic Effect on the Oxidation of O-Toluidine Blue by Periodate in Micellar Media

Abstract

A simple kinetic spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of ultra trace amounts of Rh(III). The method is based on the catalytic effect of rhodium(III) on the oxidation of o-Toluidine blue by periodate in micellar media. The reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in absorbance of o-Toluidine blue at 628 nm with a fixed-time method. The decrease in the absorbance of o-Toluidine blue is proportional to the concentration of Rh(III) in the concentration range 1.0–400.0 ng/mL, with a fixed time of 0.5–4.5 min from initiation of the reaction. The limit of detection is 0.2 ng/mL Rh(III). The relative standard deviation for the determination of 0.020 and 0.100 μg/mL Rh(III) was 2.2 and 1.5%, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of rhodium in water.