UV–vis spectrophotometer and smartphone RGB dual mode detection of inorganic arsenic based on hydride generation iodine–starch system

A dual-mode analytical system based on hydride generation iodine–starch was established for the inorganic arsenic detection by UV–vis spectrophotometer and smartphone RGB. Hydride generation (HG) was used as a gaseous sample introduction technique for this dual-mode analytical system, the generated AsH3 was transported into iodine–starch solution, so that the color of iodine–starch solution was faded from dark blue to colorless, which could be recorded by UV–vis spectrophotometer and smartphone RGB simultaneously. Various experimental conditions were investigated, three certified reference water samples, three water samples and its spiked samples were detected by this dual mode analytical system under the optimized conditions, recoveries ranging 94–108 % were obtained, indicating a good accuracy and applicability of this method. A detectable concentration as low as 0.01 μg mL−1 was achieved, meeting the analysis requirement of As(III) in water samples. It is a potential analytical system for inorganic arsenic detection in field analysis.