On-line preconcentration and separation of palladium, platinum and iridium using alpha-amino pyridine resin with flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

A flow injection on-line microcolumn method has been studied for the separation and preconcentration of noble metals, Pd, Pt and Ir, followed by flame AAS determination. An alpha-amino pyridine resin was used as preconcentration reagent. Non-noble metals studied could be eliminated by 2M HCl solution in the rinsing stage. A group-eluent for all Pd, Pt and Ir was studied. Separation of individual noble metals could also be accomplished using selective eluents. This approach can be used both for the separation and determination of Pd, Pt and Ir in samples. The sensitivities and the sample frequency have been improved. The method has been applied to certified samples.