Sorbent materials for separation and preconcentration of gold in environmental and geological samples – A review

Development of a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction technique for ultra-sensitive detection of gold in environmental samples using atomic absorption spectrometry

The work examines the determination of gold from environmental samples by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) method. The method was developed for the separation and determination of Au (III) ions after chelating with bis (salicylaldehyde) ethylenediimine (H2SA2en) Schiff-base as derivatizing reagent. Flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) techniques were used for quantitation of Au (III). These techniques are sensitive and rapid for the determination of gold concentrations in ore, water and sediment samples. The influence of factors such as pH, reagent concentration, solvents (extracting) (disperser) and solvent volumes on extraction efficiency of Au (III) ions were studied and optimized by univariate and multivariate techniques. The linearity of the method was in the range of 2 to 12 µg/L with R2 = 0.997. The limit of detection was 1 µg/L, and the limit of quantification was 3 µg/L. The preconcentration factor and enrichment factor values were 44 and 47. The repeatability (the intra-day) and reproducibility (the inter-day) precisions (n = 3) were found to be 0.417-3.56%. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of gold in sediment samples of the Indus River, Kori Barrage, goldsmith water, acidic solution of goldsmith and ornament samples collected from Goldsmith Labs and shops. The results found from FAAS were compared with those obtained from ICP-OES technique, and a good correlation with comparable selectivity and sensitivity was specified.

Eco-friendly optical sensor for precise detection of gold ions in diverse matrices through the integration of β-2-hydroxybenzyl-3-methoxy-2-hydroxyazastyrene in a PVC membrane

An environmentally conscious methodology is investigated for the precise and discerning identification of trace concentrations of gold ions in diverse matrices. A novel optical sensor membrane is proposed for the determination of Au3+ ions, utilizing the immobilization of β-2-hydroxybenzyl-3-methoxy-2-hydroxyazastyrene (HMHS) entrapped in polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The sensor incorporates sodium tetraphenylborate (Na-TPB) as the ionic additive and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) as a plasticizer. Under optimal conditions, the suggested sensor exhibits a linear calibration response to Au3+ ions within a concentration range of 5.0 to 165 ng mL-1. Detection and quantification limits are specified as 1.5 and 4.8 ng mL-1, respectively, with a rapid response time of 5.0 min. Upon presentation, this optical sensor not only affirms high reproducibility, stability, and an extended operational lifespan but also showcases exceptional selectivity for Au3+ ions. Notably, no discernible interference is observed when assessing the potential influence of other cations and anions on Au3+ ion detection. The adaptability of this optical sensor is validated through its successful application in determining Au3+ ion concentrations across various sample types, including water, environmental, cosmetics, and soil matrices.

Gold determination in soil by ICP-MS: comparison of sample pretreatment methods

At present, the direct gold determination in geological samples by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is still an arduous challenge due to both spectral and background interferences. It is very important and necessary to study the pretreatment processes; therefore, the polyurethane foam treatment and sample digestion methods are explored and compared here. The experimental results showed that the gold adsorption rate of treated foam was significantly improved as the impurities in the foam were cleaned up, and the potential difference of the liquid membrane was increased. Meanwhile, the combination of the foam enrichment and thiourea desorption achieved the selective adsorption and desorption of gold ions, eliminated the interference of coexisting ions, and perfected the detection limits. Compared with the traditional electric heating plate digestion method, microwave digestion, a closed digestion method, had the advantages of less sample and reagent dosage, short time consumption, high degree of automation, thorough digestion, good security, and environmental friendliness and met the requirements of green chemistry development. The proposed microwave digestion-foam enrichment-thiourea desorption-ICP-MS determination method was applied to the gold test in soil samples of the actual gold mining area. It has the great potential as a routine laboratory procedure.

Sample Digestion and Combined Preconcentration Methods for the Determination of Ultra-Low Gold Levels in Rocks

The gold abundance in basic rocks, which normally varies between 0.5 and 5 ppb, has served as a very important indicator in many geoscience studies, including those focused on the planetary differentiation, redistribution of elements during the crustal process, and ore genesis. However, because gold is a monoisotopic element that exhibits a nugget effect, it is very difficult to quantify its ultra-low levels in rocks, which significantly limits our understanding of the origin of gold and its circulation between the Earth crust, mantle, and core. In this work, we summarize various sample digestion and combined preconcentration methods for the determination of gold amounts in rocks. They include fire assay, fire assay combined with Te coprecipitation and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) or laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, fusion combined with Te coprecipitation and anion exchange resins, dry chlorination, wet acid digestion combined with precipitation, ion exchange resins, solvent extraction, polyurethane foam, extraction chromatography, novel solid adsorbents, and direct determination by INAA. In addition, the faced challenges and future perspectives in this field are discussed.

Comparative Study on Two Pretreatment Processes for Chemical Phase Analysis of Gold in Geological Samples by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Sample pretreatment is important for chemical phase analysis of elements. In this study, the geological samples of the Laozuoshan gold mine are chosen to pretreat by ultrasonic centrifugation and cyclotron oscillation, and the content of gold in eight chemical phases (water-soluble, ion exchange and clay adsorption, organic matter bound, iron-manganese oxide bound, naked or seminaked, carbonate bound, sulfide bound, and insoluble silicate states) is determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The results show that the gold content of water-soluble, ion exchange and clay adsorption, iron-manganese oxide, and naked or seminaked states in the rock and ore samples is low, and some samples have high gold content of insoluble silicate states in the two methods. However, the gold content of organic matter bound, carbonate bound, and sulfide bound states obtained by ultrasonic centrifugation and cyclotron oscillation methods is significantly different. According to the X-ray fluorescence spectrometry data and the actual geological condition, the result given by the cyclotron oscillation method is more reasonable. The gold content of sulfide bound state in sediment samples is the highest and consistent with the mineral information, which could be applied to preliminarily predict the rock and ore conditions in the corresponding mining areas. In contrast with ultrasonic centrifugation, the cyclotron oscillation method has the advantages of simplicity, high efficiency, practicality, and environmental protection, and it can be better used for the determination of gold chemical phase state in geological samples by atomic absorption spectrometry.

A sensitive method for the determination of gold and palladium based on dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination using N-(6-morpholin-4-ylpyridin-3-yl)-N′-phenylthiourea

A new method for the determination of gold and palladium was developed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction separation-preconcentration and flame atomic absorption spectrometry detection.

Visual and surface plasmon resonance sensor for zirconium based on zirconium-induced aggregation of adenosine triphosphate-stabilized gold nanoparticles

Owing to its high affinity with phosphate, Zr(IV) can induce the aggregation of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP)-stabilized AuNPs, leading to the change of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption spectra and color of ATP-stabilized AuNP solutions. Based on these phenomena, visual and SPR sensors for Zr(IV) have been developed for the first time. The A(660 nm)/A(518 nm) values of ATP-stabilized AuNPs in SPR absorption spectra increase linearly with the concentrations of Zr(IV) from 0.5 μM to 100 μM (r=0.9971) with a detection limit of 95 nM. A visual Zr(IV) detection is achieved with a detection limit of 30 μM. The sensor shows excellent selectivity against other metal ions, such as Cu(2+), Fe(3+), Cd(2+), and Pb(2+). The recoveries for the detection of 5 μM, 10 μM, 25 μM and 75 μM Zr(IV) in lake water samples are 96.0%, 97.0%, 95.6% and 102.4%, respectively. The recoveries of the proposed SPR method are comparable with those of ICP-OES method.

Polyurethane-Keratin Membranes: Structural Changes by Isocyanate and pH, and the Repercussion on Cr(VI) Removal

Keratin has the capacity to interact with metal ions. In order to take advantage of this potential, a novel membrane with polyurethane and keratin has been developed and studied for removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. Physicochemical and morphological properties of these hybrid membranes were studied, varying synthesis parameters such as the type of isocyanate and pH in keratin solution. The effects of using diphenyl-methane-diisocyanate or toluene-diisocyanate and modifying the pH in keratin solutions were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and dynamical mechanical analysis. Results show that pH has a strong influence on morphology and on Cr(VI) removal efficiency. When pH in keratin solution is low (2.5), the protein separates from water, and a more closed cell in the membrane is obtained affecting its mechanical properties. The removal efficiency of Cr(VI) was also assessed at different pH values of chromium solutions. These results show that when pH of the Cr solution is acidic (at 1.5), the Cr(VI) removal percentages increase significantly, reaching up to a 58%. Thus this paper demonstrates the successful combination of synthetic and natural polymers depending on the process parameters to be applied in the critical purpose of remediation of Cr(VI) contamination.