Dapsone a new diazotizing reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of nitrite in waste and natural water samples.

A new diazotizing reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of nitrite is described. The method is based on diazotization-coupling reaction between dapsone and phloroglucinol in hydrochloric acid medium. The reactions were conducted at room temperature, the molor absorptivity at 425 nm is 4.28 x 10(4) l mol-1cm-1 and was stable for 50 h. Beer's law was obeyed in the nitrite range of 0.008-1.0 microgram ml-1. Tolerance limits were tested for 33 species. The method has been found to be applicable for the determination of nitrite in natural and wastewater.