Ion Chromatographic Method with Post-Column Fuchsin Reaction for Measurement of Bromate in Chlorinated Water

An ion chromatographic method that employs a post-column reaction with fuchsin and spectrophotometric detection was optimized for measuring bromate (BrO3-) in water. BrO3- is converted to Br2 by sodium metabisulfite and then reacted with acidic fuchsin to form a red-colored product that strongly absorbs at 530 nm. The reaction of BrO3- and fuchsin reagent is optimum at pH 3.5 and 65 oC. The method has a limit of quantitation of 4.5 μg L-1 and is linear up to 150 μg L-1 BrO3-. Recoveries from spiked samples were high ranging from 95 to 102 % using external standard calibration and 87 to 103 % using standard addition method. Intra-batch and inter-batch reproducibility studies of the method resulted to RSD values ranging from 0.62 to 2.01 % and percent relative error of 0.12 to 2.94 % for BrO3- concentrations of 10 μg L-1 and 50 μg L-1. This method is free of interferences from common inorganic anions at levels typically found in chlorinated tap drinking water without preconcentration. The optimized method can be applied to trace analysis of bromate in chlorinated tap drinking water samples.