Micelle-mediated preconcentration using cationic surfactants for the spectrophotometric determination of uranium in aqueous solutions

A sensitive cloud point extraction method was developed for uranium(VI) preconcentration and determination in aqueous solutions. The method is based on uranium(VI) complexation with eriochrome cyanine R and extraction of the complex into the cationic surfactant CTAB at pH 5.5. The optimal extraction and reaction conditions were evaluated and optimized. Under optimum conditions, linearity was obtained for uranium(VI) concentration range of 10–200 ng mL−1 and the limits of detection and quantification were 0.70 and 2.33 ng mL−1 respectively. The interference effect of some anions and cations was evaluated. The method was successfully applied for uranium(VI) spectrophotometric determination in water samples.