Determination of water by flow-injection analysis with the karl fischer reagent

Abstract

A method for the determination of water in organic solvents by flow-injection analysis (f.i.a.) is described. The method, which is based on the reaction between water and the Karl Fischer reagent, is capable of 120 determinations per hour. The concentration range 0.01–5% (v/v) of water can be covered by using a single Karl Fischer reagent solution. The results obtained with a specially constructed potentiometric detector showed a relative standard deviation of less than 0.5% (v/v). This value was about 3 times less than that obtained with a spectrophotometric detector. The f.i.a. technique is shown to offer some unique possibilities in minimizing interferences associated with the standard Karl Fischer batch titration method.