Abstract
A highly specific and sensitive chromatographic method for the
determination of sulfide ions was developed. The procedure is based
on the sensitive and specific reaction of sulfide ions with 4-[p-(N,Ndimethylamino)
phenyl]-2,6-diphenylpyrylium cations. The product
of the reaction is a thiopyrylium derivative which can be quantitatively
determined. Separations were performed on cellulose thinlayer
chromatography (TLC) plates with a mixture of phosphoric
buffer (pH 3.0), propan-2-ol, and acetonitrile (4:4:0.5, v/v) as the
mobile phase. The thiopyrylium derivative was visible in the form of
blue spots against a colorless background, which were converted
into a chromatogram using TLSee software. Linearity was obtained
in the range of 40500 pmol per spot. The limits of detection and
quantification were 10 pmol per spot and 33 pmol per spot, respectively.
The proposed method was successfully used for the detection
and determination of sulfide ions in water samples from the Busko
Zdrój health resort.