A polarographic determination of trace amounts of lead in zirconium and its alloys

A method was developed for determining lead in reactor-grade zirconium and zirconium alloys. The procedure involves a preliminary separation of the leaddiethyldithiocarbamate complex and subsequent determination of the metal by using a cathode-ray polarograph. The procedure is satisfactory over the range 20 to 100 ppm of lead. Iron and molybdenum interfere, but interference by amounts up to at least 1 and 2.5%, respectively, can be overcome by a preliminary extraction with diethyl ether from acid solution. (auth)