Title: preconcentration coefficient
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - preconcentration coefficient
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.P04804
Status: current

Definition
This is defined as \[K = \frac{Q_{\rm{T}}/Q_{\rm{M}}}{Q_{\rm{T}}^{\rm{o}}/Q_{\rm{M}}^{\rm{o}}}\] where \(Q_{\rm{T}}\) and \(Q_{\rm{T}}^{\rm{o}}\) are the quantities of the microcomponent in the concentrate and in the sample, respectively (mass units or concentration units), and \(Q_{\rm{M}}^{\rm{o}}\) and \(Q_{\rm{M}}\) and are the quantities of the matrix before and after preconcentration, respectively. If the recovery is 100%, \(K=\frac{Q_{\rm{M}}^{\rm{o}}}{Q_{\rm{M}}}\). The terms enrichment coefficient and enrichment factor are not recommended.

Related Terms
- coefficient: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/C01124
- preconcentration: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/P04803
- recovery: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/R05206

Source
- PAC, 1979, 51, 1195. 'Separation and Preconcentration of Trace Substances. I-Preconcentration for Inorganic Trace Analysis' on page 1198 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac197951051195)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04804/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04804/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04804/xml

Citation: Citation: 'preconcentration coefficient' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.P04804
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Accessed: 2026-04-21T08:09:24+00:00