Using Box-Behnken Design for Determination of Antimony(III) in Polyethylene Terephthalate by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy

Nur Faten Hazira Mohd Ghazali; Nor Suhaila Mohamad Hanapi; Nurzaimah Zaini; Ahmad Lutfi Anis; Wan Mohd Asyraf Wan Mahmood

doi:10.22146/ijc.105759

Using Box-Behnken Design for Determination of Antimony(III) in Polyethylene Terephthalate by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy

https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.105759

Nur Faten Hazira Mohd Ghazali⁽¹⁾, Nor Suhaila Mohamad Hanapi^(2*), Nurzaimah Zaini⁽³⁾, Ahmad Lutfi Anis⁽⁴⁾, Wan Mohd Asyraf Wan Mahmood⁽⁵⁾

(1) Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
(2) Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
(3) Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
(4) Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
(5) Center of Foundation Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 43800 Dengkil, Selangor, Malaysia
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

Antimony (Sb), a toxic heavy metal, is widely used in plastic industries as a catalyst in producing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) due to its high catalytic efficiency and cost-effectiveness. However, its potential to leach into consumables raises significant health and environmental concerns, highlighting the need for accurate quantification methods. This study aimed to optimize microwave-assisted digestion (MW-AD) parameters for the determination of trace levels of Sb(III) in PET using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). A Box-Behnken Design (BBD) was employed to systematically optimize three critical factors: digestion temperature, digestion time, and sample weight. The statistical analysis confirmed the model’s reliability, with an R² value of 0.9945, indicating a well-fitted model. The optimal conditions were determined as 200 °C digestion temperature, 15 min digestion time, and 0.1 g sample weight. Under optimal conditions, the method exhibited excellent analytical performance, achieving a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.079 mg L⁻¹, a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 3.270 mg L⁻¹, accuracy of 106% spike recovery, and precision with 0.81% relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 3). This validated method provides a rapid, sensitive, and efficient approach for the quantification of Sb(III) in PET samples.

Keywords

microwave-assisted digestion; antimony(III); Box-Behnken; PET; ICP-OES

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.105759