A liquid micro-extraction based one-step method for the chemical fractionation of copper in seawater

In this work, the reagent Cyanex® 272 has been incorporated in a three-phase solvent bar micro-extraction system to selectively separate the inorganic and organic fractions of copper in seawater. Optimized conditions for micro-extraction of Cu fractions were 0.2 M Cyanex® 272 in the organic solution contained into the fiber pores, 0.5 M HCl as acceptor solution within the fiber, stirring rate of 500 rpm, and 60 min time of extraction, providing an enrichment factor of 51.6 ± 2.3. Experimental results for selective extraction of organic and inorganic Cu showed a good correlation with theoretical data for Cu speciation, and the relationship between enrichment factor and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration in the samples was used to predict total Cu concentration. Instrumental determination of Cu presented a linear response within the range 0.1-20 µg L^-1, obtaining a limit of detection of 0.03 µg L^-1. Finally, the method was successfully applied to the study of Cu fractions in real seawater samples collected from the Bay of Cádiz (Spain).