Micellar modified spectrophotometric determination of nitrobenzenes based upon reduction with tin(II), diazotisation and coupling with the Bratton–Marshall reagent

Abstract Nitrobenzenes, such as the antibiotic chloramphenicol, the vasodilator nicardipine, and the herbicides dinitramin, dinobuton, fenitrothion, methylparathion, oxyfluorfen, parathion, pendimethalin, quintozene, and trifluralin, were determined by using a spectrophotometric method in the visible region (540 nm). The method was based on the reduction of the nitrobenzenes to arylamines with tin(II) chloride, diazotisation of the arylamines and coupling of the diazonium ions with the Bratton–Marshall reagent. The two latter reactions were performed in a micellar medium of sodium dodecyl sulphate. The linear calibration range was 2×10 −6 to 7×10 −5 M ( r >0.999), with limits of detection i…