Spectrophotometric determination of ferbam (iron(III) dimethyldithiocarbamate) in a commercial sample and wheat grains using 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline

A procedure has been developed for the determination of iron(III) dimethyldithiocarbamate by converting it into iron(III)- bathophenanthroline complex, which is then dissolved in water in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate as a surfactant, and the absorbance measured at 532 nm against a reagent blank. Beer's law is obeyed over the concentration range 0.3-20 mu g ml(-1) in the final solution. The method is sensitive, highly selective and can be used for the determination of ferbam in a commercial sample, in mixtures with various dithiocarbamates (ziram, zineb, maneb, etc.) and from wheat grains. (C) 1999 Society of Chemical Industry.