2,6-Bis[(o-hydroxy)phenyliminomethyl]-1-hydroxybenzene as a reagent for the selective spectrofluorimetric determination of aluminium

A spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of aluminium at ng/ml level has been developed. The method is based on the formation of a fluorescent 1∶1 complex between Al(III) and 2,6-bis[(o-hydroxy)phenyliminomethyl]-1-hydroxybenzene at an apparent pH of 5.0 in an aqueous-ethanol medium (70% v/v ethanol). The influence of reaction variables is discussed. The range of concentration of the method is 1.0–10.0 ng/ml aluminium, the relative standard deviation 1.5% and the limit of detection 0.1 ng/ml. The advantages of the proposed method include high sensitivity and selectivity. The method has been applied to the determination of aluminium in natural waters.