A simple yet sensitive colorimetric nitrite ions assay based on diazotization with p‑Aminobenzoic and coupling with...

Immoderate intake of nitrite (NO₂^-) is deleterious human health and may result in causing dangerous diseases. In this study, nitrite detection system was successfully fabricated based on a unique diazo-coupling reaction of p‑Aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and phloroglucinol (1, 3, 5‑trihydroxybenzene). Upon the presence of NO₂^- in an acid medium, p‑Aminobenzoic acid could not only form diazonium ion easily but also couple with p‑Aminobenzoic acid, and results forming yellow water-soluble azo dye that shows maximum absorption at 434 nm. Under the further accurate determination condition, such as acid concentration, amount of reagents and time required, the naked-eye detection of NO₂^- showed excellent selectivity in compared with some anions. Especially, diazotization and coupling reaction proposed here is very fast and control of pH and temperature are unnecessary. Moreover, the color is stable for several days and Beer's law is obeyed over a wide range. Reliable detection can be made in the range of 0.05 to 1 p.p.m. of nitrite ion. Detection limit was calculated to be 0.024 p.p.m. (0.52 μ M) by UV-visible spectroscopy and 0.05 p.p.m. (1.09 μ M) by naked-eye. By using an electrochemical method, IR, SEM, and ¹HNMR, the sensing mechanism can be easily verified. More importantly the proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of nitrite in a real water sample.