Room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [C4MIM][PF6], was
used as an alternative to volatile organic solvents in single drop microextraction-electrothermal atomic
absorption spectrometry (SDME-ETAAS). Manganese was extracted from aqueous solution into a drop of
the ionic liquid after complextaion with 1-(2-thiazolylazo)-2-naphthol (TAN) and the drop was directly
injected into the graphite furnace. Several variables affecting microextraction efficiency and ETAAS signal,
such as pyrolysis and atomization temperature, pH, TAN concentration, extraction time, drop volume
and stirring rate were investigated and optimized. In the optimum experimental conditions, the limit of
detection (3 s) and the enhancement factorwere 0.024gL−1 and 30.3, respectively. The relative standard
deviation (RSD) for five replicate determinations of 0.5gL−1 Mn(II)was 5.5%. The developedmethodwas
validated by the analysis of a certified reference material (NIST SRM 1643e) and applied successfully to
the determination of manganese in several natural water samples.