SIMULTANEOUS ASSAY OF COPPER IRON AND URANIUM IN PHOSPHATE MEDIA BY ION-PAIR LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

Ion-pair, high-performance liquid chromatography has been used for the simultaneous separation of Cu(II), Fe(II) and U(VI) as their proposed , anionic [M(H2PO4)(3)](-) and neutral complexes with tetrabutylammoni um (TBA)(+) as ion-pairing reagent. The concentration effect of (TBA)( +), organic modifier and pH of the eluent on the separation was invest igated. The UV detector response at various wavelengths has been optim ized. Detection limits of Cu(II), Fe(II) and U(VI) were 12, 6 and 12 n g respectively. The method is compared with atomic absorption spectros copy spectrophotometry for determination of metal ions in synthetic mi xtures as well as in Standard Reference Materials (SRMs).