Determination of Pd(II) and Pt(II) Metal Cyano Complexes Using Capillary Electrophoresis

Mixtures of cyano complexes of palladium(II) and platinum(II) were separated by capillary electrophoresis using a fused silica capillary as a separation column and 30 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7) containing 15 wt. % acetonitrile as a running buffer. By virtue of the high ionic mobilities of the negatively charged cyano complexes of Pd(II) and Pt(II), they were separated using a cathodic injection and anodic detection scheme. The metal complexes eluted through the capillary were detected by direct UV absorption at 214 nm. A linear relationship between peak area and concentration was obtained for both ions and the detection limit was lower than $10^{-14}$ mole. The proposed method was applied to real sample, e.g., anode slime obtained from an electrolytic copper refinary, as a method for the simultaneous determination of palladium and platinum.