Kinetic determination of aromatic amines at millimolar level

A kinetic method for the determination of aromatic amines is reported. The method involves the formation of an azo dye between 1-(4-hydroxy-6-methylpyrimidin-2-yl)-3-methylpyrazolin-5-one and a diazonium salt formed from the amine in the presence of nitrite in weakly acidic media. The reaction is monitored via the initial rate of change of the absorbance of the azo dye at 420 nm, because this is proportional to the aniline concentration. The optimum acidity and concentration of reagents were established. The concentration ranges for which the calibration lines are linear are quite large. Detection limits were estimated. The effect of several metal ions usually present in real samples, e.g. waste water, was examined to assess interference.