Abstract Chromazurol S reacts with scandium(III) in a weakly acidic medium to form one of two kinds of complexes according to the pH value of the medium. Their compositions were confirmed; one had a 1 : 2 combining ratio of scandium (III) and chromazurol S at pH 5.2 or higher, and the other, a 1 : 1 ratio at pH below 4.0. The color development of the 1 : 2 complex is more sensitive than the other. Therefore, it was applied to the determination of scandium(III). Several conditions for the color development were investigated, a calibration curve was made under the optimum conditions, and the influences of coexisting ions were investigated. The maximum absorption wavelength of the complex is 550 mμ against the reagent blank. The optimum pH for the color development is about 5.6. By adding a reagent in an amount four times the scandium concentration, the maximum color intensity is given. The color intensity decreases gradually during the first 1.5 hr, and then it remains constant for several hours. A linear relationship between the absorbance and the scandium concentration is obtained in the concentration range from 4 to 27 μg per 10 ml. The value of the molar extinction coefficient of the complex at 550 mμ is 27000, and the sensitivity of the color reaction is 0.0017 μg/cm2 for log I0/I=0.001. The formation constant, K, of the complex is calculated to be 9.5×1011 under these conditions. Anions such as fluoride, phosphate, oxalate, tartrate, citrate, and EDTA interfere with the color development of the complex. Cations such as Al(III), Be(II), U(VI), Fe(II), Th(IV), Cu(II), Y(III), Fe(III), Zr(IV), and W(VI) interfere, too.
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