Ratio spectra-continuous wavelet transformation was used for the simultaneous determination of ternary mixtures of copper, cobalt and nickel without prior separation steps. The method is based on the complexation reaction of these cations with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) in triton X-100 micellar media at pH 8.0. The results showed that Cu(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) could be determined simultaneously in the ranges 0.20-4.0, 0.20-4.0 and 0.50-7.0 mg L-1, respectively. Different mother wavelets from the family of continuous wavelet transforms were selected and applied under the optimal conditions for multi-component determinations. The method was tested by analyzing various synthetic ternary mixtures of Cu(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) ions. Under the working conditions, the proposed method was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of these metals content evaluation in some real samples including multivitamin tablet, tea, barley, spinach, chocolate, milk powder, soil, sea water and tap water samples.
Cu(II); Co(II); Ni(II); wavelet transformation; vegetables
