A RAPID SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF NI(II) IN MEDICINAL PLANT MATERIALS AND WATER SAMPLES USING N’,N”’-((1E,1’E)-(PROPANE-1,3-DIYLBIS (SULFANEDIYL)) BIS(1-(4-BROMOPHENYL) ETHAN-2-YL-1-YLIDENE)) BIS(2-HYDROXYBENZOHYDRAZIDE) AS A SELECTIVE AND SENSITIVE ANALYTICAL REAGENT

N’,N”’-((1E,1’E)-(propane-1,3-diylbis (sulfanediyl)) bis (1-(4-bromophenyl) ethan-2- yl-1-ylidene)) bis (2-hydroxybenzohydrazide) (BAPSSHZ) is found to be a selective and sensitive analytical reagent for the determination of trace levels of nickel (II) in environmental samples like medicinal plant materials and water samples (potable and polluted) by spectro-photometry. BAPSSHZ reacts with Ni (II) at pH 5.0 in aqueous DMF to form a yellow-colored (Ni-BAPSSHZ) complex that shows maximum absorbance (λ_max) at 343 nm. Immediate color reaction and the absorbance remain constant for about 48 h. The molar absorptivity coefficient and Sandell’s sensitivity are found to be 7.21×10⁴ L.mol^-1 cm^-1 and 0.064 µg cm^-2 of Ni(II), respectively. The system obeys Beer`s law in the range of 2.37-23.71 µg mL^-1 of Ni (II). The linear regression coefficient is 0.9991, and the standard deviation is 0.01086. A large number of cations, anions, and complexing agents do not interfere in this method. The developed method is applied for the determination of Ni(II) in medicinal plant materials and water samples (potable and polluted).