A solution containing a small amount of metal ions, e. g. Cu
+2, Fe
+3, Co
+2 or Ni
+2, and a largeamount of Zn
+2 (or Cd
+2) is treated with (NH
4)
2[Hg(CNS)
4] reagent for precipitation of Zn [Hg(CNS)
4] together with these metal ions by the induced precipitation. The precipitate shows a characteristic coloration and it turns to a characteristic colored solution by dissolving it in acetone-methanol (1:1) containing 10% NH
4CNS, i. e. red-brown by the presence of Fe
+3, greenish blue by the Co
+2 and red-brown by the Cu
+2. 550γ of Fe
+3 or 5120γ of Co
+2 in 25200ml. of the sample solution may be determined by means of photometric measurement of the colored solution above mentioned. The determination of Cu
+2 is difficult due to the rapid discoloration. The conditions for obtaining the best induced precipitation, e. g. the amount of Zn
+2 to be added, the amount of precipitating agent against the definite volume of sample, and the stability of the colored solution to be tested are discussed. Also, the procedure for photometric estimation of a single ion and the interference are investigated. A satisfactory result is obtained for simultaneous estimation of Fe and Co in the solution.
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