University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

Science In Motion

Chemistry Lab 005

DETERMINATION OF IRON IN WATER

Introduction:
Any solution which is colored or can be made to be colored by adding a complexing agent can be analyzed using a spectrophotometer. Solutions containing iron ions are colorless but, with the addition of ortho-phenanthroline, the iron (II) ions in the sample are immediately complexed to produce a species which is orange in color. ore iron (II) ions in a sample will result in a deeper orange color. !rom data obtained from a series of iron (II) standards, it is possible to be able to determine the amount of iron in an un"nown sample.

Safety#
Always wear safety glasses and an apron in the lab.

Procedure:
Part I: preparation of standards (steps 1 and !ay "a#e $een done $y t"e instructor%

$. %issol&e '.(')) grams of ferrous ammonium sulfate, hexahydrate in distilled water. %ilute to $.'' *. +his solution is $'' mg,* !e -) (same as $'' ppm). ). .repare standard solutions of '.', ).', /.', 0.', and 1.' ppm by respecti&ely diluting '.', ).', /.', 0.', and 1.' m* of the $'' ppm stoc" solution into fi&e separate $''.' m* &olumetric flas"s. +o each flas" add 2 m* of a '.)23 ortho-phenanthrolinesolution. %ilute with deionized water to $''.' m*. 4. 5lean and dry a set of cu&ets. /. *abel the cu&ets 'ppm (or blan"), ).'ppm, /.'ppm, 0.'ppm, 1.'ppm. 2. !ill each cu&et with the appropriate solution. Part II: Preparation of t"e un&no'n $. 6btain an un"nown sample from the instructor or prepare your own un"nown using a collected water sample. ). If using a collected water sample, add 2 m* of the '.)23 ortho-phenanthroline solution to a $''.'' m* &olumetric flas". %ilute to mar" with collected water sample.

Part III: for!in( t"e standard cur#e

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$. +urn on the spectrophotometer. .ress the A)T)* button on the Spec )' 7enesys to select absorbance. ). Ad8ust the wa&elength to +1, nm by pressing the n! arrow up or down. 4. Insert the blan" ('ppm) into the cell holder and close the door. .osition the cell so that the light passes through clear walls. -9emember to wipe off the cu&et with a :imwipe before inserting it into the instrument. /. .ress , A.S)1,,/ T to set the blan" to ' absobance. 2. 9ecord the absorbance of the 'ppm solution. 6btain absorbance readings for each of the other standard solutions. 6. If using a collected water sample as an unknown, use collected water without the 0.25% orthophenanthroline solution as the blank and re-zero the absorbance. If not, procede to the next step. (. 6btain an absorbance reading for the un"nown sample. 1. a"e a graph of 5oncentration (x-axis) &s. absorbance (y-axis).

;. !rom the standard cur&e, determine the concentration of iron in this un"nown sample.

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Deter!ination of Iron in Water

Data Ta$0e:
*oncentration '.' ppm (blan") ).' ppm /.' ppm 0.' ppm 1.' ppm un" >===== un" >===== A$sor$ance

1uestions:
$. ?xplain why it was necessary to add ortho-phenanthroline to the solutions.

). @hat is the purpose of preparing and analyzing standard iron solutionsA

4. @hat other items could be analyzed using this methodA

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