Spectrophotometric study of the magnesium-bissalicylidene-ethylenediamine system

Magnesium reacts with bissali-cylene-ethylenediamine in N,N′-dimethylformamide to yield a yellow complex. A spectrophotometric study was made on the reaction as used for the determination of trace amounts of magnesium. Maximum absorbance was obtained at 355 mμ when the solution contained 0.25 ml. of 0.5M isobutylamine per 25-ml. volume. A complex having a metal to ligand ratio of 1 to 1 is formed. The absorbance obeys Beer's law, and 3.8 × 10^-4 γ of magnesium per ml. can be detected if a 5-cm. light path is used. A value of 13,450 liter mole^-1 cm.^-1 was obtained for the molar absorptivity. The procedure of analysis is simple and results show a standard deviation of less than 1%