A cloud point extraction-flame atomic absorption spectrometric method for determination of copper in Chinese herb medicine samples was developed,using dithizone as complexing agent and Triton X-114 as surfactant.The experimental conditions,including sample pH,the concentration of dithizone,the concentration of Triton X-114,equilibrium temperature and time,were investigated in detail.Under the optimized conditions,detection limit of 0.9 μg/L and enrichment factor of 18 were achieved for copper determination with sample consumption of 10 mL.The proposed method was successfully applied to analyze copper content in Chinese herb medicine samples,with analytical results in good agreement with those obtained by graphite furnace atomic spectrometry.
