ISSN 1017-2548(Print)
ISSN 2234-8530(Online)
Volume 37, Number 5
JKCSEZ 37(5)
October 20, 1993 

Spectrophotometric determination of rare earth elements with MTB and the composition ratio were investigated in the presence of surfactants of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), Triton X-100, dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTMAB) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) at pH 6.5. The colour development between MTB and rare earths in the presence of cationic surfactants was very stable and more sensitive than that in the absence of surfactants. The largest absorbance increase was provided by CPC, which was therefore chosen for determination of rare earth elements. REE-MTB-CPC complex has absorption maxima at 650 nm and obeys the Beer's law in the range of 0∼100 ng/ml. Molar absorptivity is 6.6∼9.4 × 104mol-1l cm-1.