Photochemical-fluorimetric method for the determination of total chlorophenoxyacid herbicides

A room temperature photochemically-induced fluorescence (RTPF) method is proposed for the quantitative analysis of seven widely-used chlorophenoxyacid herbicides. The influence of organic solvent, pH (in aqueous solutions), methanol percentage, and UV irradiation time on the excitation and emission wavelengths and fluorescence intensity was investigated. It was found that the largest fluorescence signals were obtained in a mixture of methanol and pH 5 buffer (50/50, v/v), while organic solvents and water produced generally lower signals. The tri- and bichlorinated phenoxyacid herbicides were photolysed significantly more slowly than the monochlorinated derivatives, and the derivatives of 2-propionic acid were photodegraded more quickly than the corresponding derivatives of acetic and butyric acid. Selected UV irradiation times were found to be 15 min for all herbicides under study. Linear calibration graphs were established over about one to two orders of magnitude in the interval 0.1-10 mug ml(-1). The RTPF limits of detection were between 36 ng ml(-1) and 179 ng ml(-1), according to the compound. Analytical application of RTPF to river water samples containing chlorophenoxyacid herbicides is discussed.