The use of a low pressure ion chromatograph based upon short (25 mm × 4.6 mm) surfactant coated monolithic columns and a low cost paired emitter-detector diode (PEDD) based detector, for the determination of alkaline earth metals in aqueous matrices is presented. The system was applied to the separation of magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium in less than 7 min using a 0.15 M KCl mobile phase at pH 3, with post-column reaction detection at 570 nm using o-cresolphthalein complexone. A comparison of the performance of the PEDD detector with a standard laboratory absorbance detector is shown, with limits of detection for magnesium and calcium using the low cost PEDD detector equal to 0.16 and 0.23 mg L-1, respectively. Finally, the developed system was used for the determination of calcium and magnesium in a commercial spring water sample. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Chemical Sciences
Research Group:	Analytical Chemistry
Research Field:	Separation Science
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding Knowledge in the Chemical Sciences
UTAS Author:	Nesterenko, PN (Professor Pavel Nesterenko)
UTAS Author:	Paull, B (Professor Brett Paull)
ID Code:	47767
Year Published:	2006
Web of Science® Times Cited:	35
Deposited By:	Chemistry
Deposited On:	2007-11-02
Last Modified:	2011-08-18
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