Methodologies for determination of antimony in terrestrial environmental samples

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Accurate environmental monitoring of antimony (Sb) is crucial.
• Existing methods for total Sb are well-established.
• Aqueous speciation and solid-phase partitioning of Sb present analytical challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically review methodologies for environmental antimony analysis.
• To assess techniques for total Sb determination and aqueous speciation.
• To identify research gaps and future directions in Sb environmental chemistry.

Main Methods:

• Review of microwave digestion and plasma-based detection systems (ICP-AES, ICP-MS).
• Evaluation of techniques for aqueous antimony speciation, including hydride generation and HPLC-ICP-MS.
• Analysis of methods for solid-phase partitioning, such as chemical extraction and leaching.

Main Results:

• Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is favored for total Sb due to sensitivity and reduced interferences.
• Current aqueous speciation techniques are often insufficiently selective, yielding limited speciation data.
• HPLC-ICP-MS offers potential for detailed speciation but requires further development.
• Solid-phase partitioning analysis is underdeveloped, necessitating further research.

Conclusions:

• Total antimony determination in environmental samples is robust.
• Advanced techniques like HPLC-ICP-MS are needed for accurate aqueous antimony speciation.
• Further research is essential to understand antimony's associations with solid environmental matrices.