A new organic-silica based nanocomposite prepared for spectrophotometric determination of uranyl ions

A new organic-silica based nanocomposite has been prepared for uranyl ions (UO22+) determination based on the absorbance enhancement of tartrazine incorporated copper sodium silicate nanocomposites (T-CSS). T-CSS has been characterized by Fourier Transforms Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The UO22+/T-CSS complex shows a maximum absorption at 252 nm with a molar absorptivity of 6.5 x 10(3) L mol(-1) cm(-1). Beer's law has been applied in the range of 2.0 x 10(-5) to 1.5 x 10(-4) mol L-1. For more accurate analysis, the Ringbom optimum concentration range was 2.1 x 10(-5) to 1.3 x 10(-4) mol L-1. Sandell sensitivity, detection and quantification limits have been calculated. Also, T-CSS was applied on the determination of UO22+ in real samples. The results have been compared with Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) data, and very similar values were found by the two methods.