Kinetic determination of traces of manganese in different materials by its catalytic effect on the methylene green-periodate reaction

The oxidation of Methylene Green by sodium periodate is a slow process. A kinetic method based on the catalytic effect of manganese(II) on this reaction in the presence of 1,10-phenanthroline as activator is described. The reaction is followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in the absorbance of the dye at 620 nm. Under the optimal experimental conditions [4 × 10 −5 M Methylene Green, 0.2 M acetate buffer (pH 4), 2 × 10 −3 M 1,10-phenanthroline, 2.5 × 10 −3 M sodium periodate, 35°], manganese(II) between 0.2 and 30 ng ml is determined by the tangent method. The accuracy of the method and the influence of 44 foreign ions have been studied and an equation for the kinetics of the catalysed reaction is proposed. The procedure has been applied to the determination of manganese in water, milk and beer with excellent results.