Antimony is an element of environmental concern due to its toxicity and biological effects and is therefore considered as a priority pollutant by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Dissolved antimony is present in seawater at very low concentration levels, typical concentrations of Sb in unpolluted water samples are less than 1 µg L-1. Since the concentration of this element in water is very low, high sensitive analytical techniques are required,
The system is based on retention of the analyte onto a micro-column filled with a novel mesoporous silica functionalized with [1,5 bis(di-2-pyridyl) methylene] thiocarbohydrazide placed in the injection valve of the FI manifold.
