Redox Speciation of Inorganic Arsenic in Water and Saline Samples by Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry in the Presence of Sodium Diethyl Dithiocarbamate

This paper describes a new voltammetric procedure for the inorganic speciation of As(III) and As(V) in water samples. The procedure is based on the chemical reduction of arsenate [As(V)] to arsenite [As(III)] followed by the voltammetric determination of total arsenic as As(III) at the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) by adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (AdCSV) in the presence of sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate (SDDC). The reduction step involved the reaction with a mixture of Na₂S₂O₅ and Na₂S₂O₃ in the concentrations 2.5 and 0.5 mg mL^?1, respectively, and the sample heating at 80 °C for 45 min. The linear range for the determination of total arsenic as As(III) in the presence of SDDC was between 5 and 150 μg L^?1 for a deposition time of 60 s (r=0.992). A detection limit of 1.05 μg L^?1 for total As was calculated for the method in water samples using a deposition time of 60 s. The detection limits of 4.2 μg L^?1 and 15.0 μg L^?1 for total As in seawater and dialysis concentrates, respectively, were calculated using a deposition time of 60 s. The relative standard deviations calculated were 2.5 and 4.0% for five measurements of 20 μg L^?1 As(V) as As(III) in water and dialysis concentrates, respectively, after chemical reduction under optimized conditions. The method was applied for the determination of As(III) and total As in samples of dialysis water, mineral water, seawater and dialysis concentrates. Recovery values between 86.0 and 104.0% for As(III) and As(V) added to the samples prove the satisfactory accuracy and applicability of the procedure for the arsenic monitoring.     

Simultaneous Determination of Cadmium,Lead, Copper,and Thallium in Highly Saline Samples by Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (ASV) Using Mercury‐Film and Bismuth‐Film Electrodes

This paper describes a comparative study of the simultaneous determination of Cd(II), Pb(II), Tl(I), and Cu(II) in highly saline samples (seawater, hydrothermal fluids, and dialysis concentrates) by ASV using the mercury‐film electrode (MFE) and the bismuth‐film electrode (BiFE) as working electrodes. The features of MFE and BiFE as working electrodes for the single‐run ASV determinations are shown and their performances are compared with that of HMDE under similar conditions. It was observed that the stripping peak of Tl(I) was well separated from Cd(II) and Pb(II) peaks in all the studied saline samples when MFE was used. Because of the severe overlapping of Bi(III) and Cu(II) stripping peaks in the ASV using BiFE, as well as the overlapping of Pb(II) and Tl(I) stripping peaks in the ASV using HMDE, the simultaneous determination of these metals was not possible in highly saline medium using these both working electrodes. The detection limits calculated for the metals using MFE and BiFE (deposition time of 60 s) were between 0.043 and 0.070 μg L^?1 for Cd(II), between 0.060 and 0.10 μg L^?1 for Pb(II) and between 0.70 and 8.12 μg L^?1 for Tl(I) in the saline samples studied. The detection limits calculated for Cu(II) using the MFE were 0.15 and 0.50 μg L^?1 in seawater/hydrothermal fluid and dialysis concentrate samples, respectively. The methods were applied to the simultaneous determination of Cd(II), Pb(II), Tl(I), and Cu(II) in samples of seawater, hydrothermal fluids and dialysis concentrates.     

Determination of Ethylenethiourea (ETU) at Trace Levels in Water Samples by Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry

A stripping voltammetric method for the determination of ethylenethiourea in water samples is described based on its adsorptive deposition at the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). In a borate buffer (pH 9.0) as supporting electrolyte, ETU is deposited at +100 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) and stripped during the cathodic scan. The linear range for the measurements was from 2.0 to 100 μg L^?1, with a detection limit calculated as 1.4 μg L^?1 after a deposition time of 300 s and a RSD of 1.9% (n=5) for 50 μg L^?1 of ETU measured. The interferences of some organic compounds and metallic ions were tested. Recoveries between 93 and 110% were obtained using the standard addition method for spiked samples of natural and drinking waters. The method is rapid and applicable in the monitoring of ETU residues in water samples.     

Elimination of SAS Interferences in Catalytic Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Cr(VI) by Means of Fumed Silica

In the work the procedure of chromium(VI) determination by catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry (CAdSV) with application of fumed silica, is presented. Two variants of the method are proposed: in the first fumed silica is put directly to the electrolytic cell containing tested solution, in the second the silica is shaken with the sample and next centrifuged. The effectiveness of many surface‐active substances removal from synthetic solutions as well as natural water samples, is studied. In the experiments the fumed silica (Sigma‐Aldrich) of the specific surface area in the range 200–390 m² g^?1 was used. Two types of the working electrodes were applied, i.e., hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) and cyclic renewable mercury film electrode (Hg(Ag)FE). In the silica presence i) the relative standard deviation (RSD) for 0.1 μg L^?1 Cr(VI) is <2% (HMDE) and <5% (Hg(Ag)FE), n=7, ii) the detection limits estimated deposition time 20 s were respectively 14 ng L^?1 (HMDE) and 22 ng L^?1 (Hg(Ag)FE). The accuracy of the method was tested by studying the recovery of Cr(VI) from spiked natural water samples.     

Potentiometric Stripping of Arsenic(III) Using a Wall‐Jet Flow Cell and Gold(III) Solution as Chemical Reoxidant

In the proposed method As(III) is determined with a wall‐jet flow cell by means of potentiostatic co‐deposition of Au(III) and As(III) at a glassy‐carbon electrode and subsequent chemical stripping with Au(III). Factors affecting sensitivity and precision including acidity, Au(III) concentration, electrodeposition potential and flow rate were optimized. Optimum determination of As(III) in solutions containing 160 mg L^?1 and 1.2 M hydrochloric acid was accomplished with an electrolysis potential of ?0.1 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and a flow rate of 0.59 mL min^?1. Different linear concentration ranges were achieved under these conditions with good precision and relative standard deviations between 6–9%. The detection limit obtained after 120 s of electrolysis was 0.55 μg L^?1.     

Enhanced Resolution of Copper and Bismuth by Addition of Gallium in Anodic Stripping Voltammetry with the Bismuth Film Electrode

This paper presents the enhanced analysis of copper on a bismuth electrode upon addition of gallium(III). The presence of gallium alleviates the problems of overlapping stripping signals usually observed between copper and bismuth when using the Bismuth Film Electrode. In addition, it has been found that the presence of gallium improves the reproducibility of the bismuth stripping signal. Simultaneous deposition of copper and bismuth at ?1500 mV for 2 minutes in a supporting electrolyte composed of 0.1 M pH 4.75 acetate buffer with 250 μg L^?1 gallium yields well resolved copper and bismuth signals when analyzed with square‐wave anodic stripping voltammetry. Simultaneous analysis of copper and lead yielded linear calibration plots in the range 10 to 100 μg L^?1 with regression coefficients of 0.997 and 0.994 respectively. The theoretical detection limit for copper was calculated to be 4.98 μg L^?1 utilizing a 2 minutes deposition time. The relative standard deviation for a copper concentration of 50 μg L^?1 was 1.6% (n=10).     

Novel Sensitive Voltammetric Detection of Trace Gallium(III) with Presence of Catechol Using Mercury Film Silver Based Electrode

A new adsorptive stripping voltammetric method for the determination of trace gallium(III) based on the adsorption of gallium(III)‐catechol complex on the cyclic renewable mercury film silver based electrode (Hg(Ag)FE) is presented. The effects of various factors such as: preconcentration potential and time, pulse height, step potential and supporting electrolyte composition are optimized. The calibration graph is linear from 2 nM (0.14 μg L^?1) to 100 nM (6.97 μg L^?1) for a preconcentration time of 30 s, with correlation coefficient of 0.9993. For a Hg(Ag)FE with a surface area of 9.7 mm² the detection limit for a preconcentration time of 90 s is as low as 7 ng L^?1. The repeatability of the method at a concentration level of the analyte as low as 0.05 μg L^?1, expressed as RSD is 3.6% (n=5). The proposed method was successfully applied by studying the natural samples and simultaneous recovery of Ga(III) from spiked water and sediment samples.     

Adsorptive Stripping Determination of Scandium(III) with Mordant Blue 9 on Silver Amalgam Film Electrode

A new adsorptive stripping voltammetric method for the determination of trace scandium(III) based on the adsorption of scandium(III)‐mordant blue 9 complex on the cyclic renewable mercury film silver based electrode (Hg(Ag)FE) is presented. The effects of various factors such as: preconcentration potential and time, pulse height, step potential and supporting electrolyte composition are optimized. The calibration graph is linear from 2 nM (0.09 μg L^?1) to 90 nM (4 μg L^?1) for a preconcentration time of 45 s, with correlation coefficient of 0.9995. For a Hg(Ag)FE with a surface area of 7.9 mm² the detection limit for a preconcentration time of 90 s is as low as 5 ng L^?1. The repeatability of the method at a concentration level of the analyte as low as 0.2 μg L^?1, expressed as RSD is 1.9 % (n=5). The proposed method was successfully applied and validated by studying the certified reference material (CRM 320 – river sediment) and natural samples with simultaneous recovery of Sc(III) from spiked water and sediment samples.     

Determination of total antimony(III,V) by square-wave anodic stripping voltammetry with in situ plated bismuth-film electrode

A sensitive and reliable method is described for the determination of total Sb(III,?V) at traces levels by Osteryoung square-wave anodic stripping voltammery (OSWASV). This method is based on the co-deposition of Sb(III,?V) with Bi(III) onto an edge-plane pyrolytic graphite substrate at an accumulation step. OSWASV studies indicated that the co-deposited antimony was oxidised with anodic scans to give an enhanced anodic peak at about 450?mV vs. Ag/AgCl (sat. KCl). The anodic stripping peak current was directly proportional to the total concentration of antimony in the ranges of 0.01–0.10?µg?L^?1, 0.10–1.0?µg?L^?1 and 1.0–18.0?µg?L^?1 with correlation coefficient higher than 0.995 when 2.0?mol?L^?1 hydrochloric acid was used. The detection limits calculated as S/N?=?3 was 5.0?ng?L^?1 in 2.0?mol?L^?1 hydrochloric acid at 180?s deposition time. The relative standard deviation was 5% (n?=?6) at 0.10?µg?L^?1 level of antimony. The analytical results demonstrate that the proposed method is applicable to analyses of real water samples.     

Development of Electroanalytical Methods Using Different Electrodes for the Determination of Progesterone (P4) in Pharmaceutical Formulations and Human,Cow and Goat Milk

For the determination of progesterone (P4) electroanalytical studies were performed using mercury electrode (HMDE) and screen-printed boron-doped diamond electrode (BDD-SPE). The effects of pH, supporting electrolyte, accumulation potential and time (E_acc, t_acc) were studied in both systems. The optimum conditions were: i) HMDE: pH 7,0; E_acc: −0,1 V and t_acc: 40 s, ii) BDD-SPE: 0,5 mol L⁻¹ H₂SO₄; E_acc: 0,0 V and t_acc: 120 s. Under these conditions, the detection limit was 3.1 μg L⁻¹ for HMDE and 45.6 μg L⁻¹ for BDD-SPE. Both methods were validated and applied in the P4 determination on pharmaceutical formulations and milk samples.     

Catalytic Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetric Procedure for Determination of Total Chromium in Environmental Materials

A sensitive catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetric procedure for determination of traces of total chromium in environmental samples is reported. The method is based on the preconcentration of a Cr(III)? H₂DTPA complex by adsorption at the HMDE from an acetate buffer solution at the potential ?1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Total chromium was determined as Cr(III) after reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by NaHSO₃. In order to stabilize the signal of Cr(III) the measurements were performed at 5 °C. The calibration graph for chromium for an accumulation time of 60 s was linear in the range from 5×10^?10 to 5×10^?8 mol L^?1. The relative standard deviation for a chromium concentration of 1×10^?8 mol L^?1 was 3.9% (n=5). The detection limit for accumulation time of 60 s was about 8×10^?11 mol L^?1. The validation of the procedure was performed by the analysis of the certified reference materials.     

Simultaneous Differential Pulse Voltammetric Determination of Ascorbic Acid and Caffeine in Pharmaceutical Formulations Using a Boron‐Doped Diamond Electrode

A cathodically pretreated boron‐doped diamond electrode was used for the simultaneous anodic determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and caffeine (CAF) by differential pulse voltammetry. Linear calibration curves (r=0.999) were obtained from 1.9×10^?5 to 2.1×10^?4 mol L^?1 for AA and from 9.7×10^?6 to 1.1×10^?4 mol L^?1 for CAF, with detection limits of 19 μmol L^?1 and 7.0 μmol L^?1, respectively. This method was successfully applied for the determination of AA and CAF in pharmaceutical formulations, with results equal to those obtained using a HPLC reference method.     

Trace Detection of Mercury(II) Using Gold Ultra‐Microelectrode Arrays

The electroanalytical detection of trace mercury(II) at gold ultra‐microelectrode arrays is reported. The arrays consist of 256 gold microelectrodes of 5 μm in diameter in cubic arrangements which are separated from their nearest neighbor by 100 μm. The array was utilized in nitric acid using linear sweep voltammetry where a linear response from mercury additions over the range 10 μg L^?1?200 μg L^?1 (10^?8?10^?6 M) was observed with a sensitivity and detection limit of 0.11 nC/μg L^?1 and 3.2 μg L^?1 (16 nM) respectively from using a deposition time of 30 s at ?0.2 V (vs. SCE). This methodology was explored in 0.1 and 1 M chloride media over the mercury range 10 μg L^?1?200 μg L^?1 (5×10^?8?10^?6 M) where similar sensitivities of 0.087 nC/μg L^?1 and 0.078 nC/μg L^?1 were observed with an identical detection limit. The protocol is demonstrated to be useful for the determination of mercury for analysis of environmental water samples.     

Nanoporous Gold Microelectrode: A Novel Sensing Platform for Highly Sensitive and Selective Determination of Arsenic (III) using Anodic Stripping Voltammetry

A home‐made gold microelectrode (Au‐μE) was fabricated and its surface was modified with nanoporous gold structures via a facile electrochemical approach (anodization followed by electrochemical reduction method). The fabricated nanoporous Au microelectrode (NPG‐μE) was used as a sensor probe for the determination of As(III) in 1.0 mol L⁻¹ HCl solution using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) technique. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM) and cyclic voltammetry were used to characterize the surface morphology and assess the electrochemical surface area and the roughness factor of the NPG‐μE. SWASVs recorded with the NPG‐μE in As(III) solutions indicated linear behaviour in the concentration ranges of 10–200 μg L⁻¹ and 2–30 μg L⁻¹, with regression coefficients of 0.996 and 0.999 at a deposition time of 120 s, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) was found to be 0.62 μg L⁻¹ with high sensitivity of 29.75 μA (μg L⁻¹)⁻¹ cm⁻². Repeatability and reproducibility were also examined and values were determined as 3.2 % and 9.0 %. Negligible interference from major interfering copper ion was noticed, revealing the excellent anti‐interference property of the proposed sensing platform. The developed NPG‐μE was successfully used for As(III) determination in tap water samples.     

Determination of the Natural Dissolved Concentration of Zirconium in Seawater by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry

A voltammetric method was developed for zirconium determination as Zr(IV)‐cupferron‐oxalate‐diphenylguanidine complex based on adsorptive accumulation at the HMDE (E_peak=?0.95 V). The supporting electrolyte was a mixture of acetate/acetic acid (pH 4.6) and ammonium acetate (pH 5.7) solutions. E_ads=?0.6 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), t_ads=400 s, 10 mV s^?1 scan rate, and DP mode were the main parameters. The linear range was 0.033 to 3.3×10^?9 mol L^?1, and the LOD and LOQ (t_ads=400 s) were 0.77 and 1.6×10^?11 mol L^?1, respectively. The method was adequate for seawater samples, although not sufficiently sensitive for surface waters.     

Al(III) and Fe(III) Balance in Hemodialysis Treatment Assessed via Fluid Analysis by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry and UV Sample Digestion

Simultaneous determination of Al(III) and Fe(III) in posthemodialysis fluids was investigated by the Adsorptive stripping voltammetry of solochrome violet metal complexes. The adsorption of the complexes on the mercury electrode (HMDE) was investigated by out of phase altenating current voltammetry in presence of the main matrix interfering species. Sample digestion by UV irradiation was investigated to overcome the matrix interference. The proposed method was valid for real posthemodialysis samples containing or not Desferrioxamine B. Detection limits of 1.4 and 1.8 μg L^?1 were calculated for Al(III) and Fe(III), respectively. Recoveries ranging from 88.1 to 106.3% were obtained from spiking experiments.     

Simultaneous Determination of Antimony(III) and Molybdenum(VI) by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry Using Quercetin as Complexing Agent

A sensitive and selective voltammetric method for simultaneous determination of Sb(III) and Mo(VI) using Quercetin (Q) as complexing agent is described. Optimal conditions were found to be: pH 3.7, C_Q=6.0 µmol L^?1 and E_acc=?0.10 V. The LOD (3σ) for Sb(III) are 0.076 and 0.040 µg L^?1, whereas for Mo(VI) are 0.086 and 0.048 µg L^?1 with t_acc of 60 and 120 s, respectively. The method was validated using synthetic sea water (ASTM D665) and was applied to the determination of Sb(III) and Mo(VI) in natural waters with satisfactory results.     

Cathodic Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Tellurium(IV) with in situ Plated Bismuth-Film Electrode

Abstract

A very sensitive and reliable method is proposed for the determination of tellurium(IV) [Te(IV)] by Osteryoung square-wave cathodic stripping voltammetry. This method is based on the reduction of Te(IV) with bismuth(III) onto an edge-plane pyrolytic graphite electrode, followed by a cathodic potential scan. The reduced Te gave a well-defined catalytic hydrogen wave at ?1200 mV vs. Ag/AgCl. The peak height of the catalytic wave was directly proportional to the initial Te(IV) concentration in the concentration ranges of 0.01–0.10 and 0.1–1.0 µg L^?1 with 30 s deposition time. A 3σ detection limit of 1.0 ng L^?1 Te(IV) was obtained with the same deposition time. The relative standard deviation was 3% on replicate runs (n = 5) for the determination of 0.1 µg L^?1 Te(IV). Analytical results of natural water samples demonstrate that the proposed method is applicable to the determination of traces of Te(IV).     

Renewable Copper and Silver Amalgam Film Electrodes of Prolonged Application for the Determination of Elemental Sulfur Using Stripping Voltammetry

New, renewable copper (Hg(Cu)FE) and silver (Hg(Ag)FE) based amalgam film electrodes applied for the determination of elemental sulfur using differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry are presented. With surface areas adjustable from 1 to 12 mm², both electrodes are characterized by very good surface reproducibility (≤2%) and long‐term stability (a few thousand measurement cycles). The mechanical refreshing of the amalgam film takes about 1–2 seconds. The effects of various factors such as instrumental parameters and the supporting electrolyte composition were optimized. Interferences from sulfides are easily removed by the addition of acid, and bubbling with argon, for Hg(Ag)FE. In the case of Hg(Cu)FE, sulfides did not interfere. The calibration graph is linear within the studied range from 16 ng L^?1 to 4.8 μg L^?1 for Hg(Cu)FE, and up to 6.4 μg L^?1 for Hg(Ag)FE (t_acc=15 s). The correlation coefficients for the two electrodes were at least 0.997. The detection limits for a low concentration of S(0) and t_acc=60 s are as low as 14 ng L^?1 for Hg(Cu)FE and 4 ng L^?1 for Hg(Ag)FE. The proposed method was successfully applied and validated by studying the recovery of S(0) from spiked river water.     

Simultaneous Determination of Nickel and Cadmium by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry

A sensitive and fast method for the simultaneous determination of trace amounts of nickel and cadmium in real samples has been described using differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry (DPASV) by adsorptive accumulation of the N,N′‐bis(salicylaldehydo)4‐carboxyphenylenediamine (BSCPDA)–complex on the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). As supporting electrolyte 0.02 mol L^?1 ammonia buffers containing ligand has been used. Optimal analytical conditions were found to be: BSCPDA concentration of 42 μM, pH 9.6 and adsorption potential at ?50 mV versus Ag/AgCl. With an accumulation time of 20 s, the peaks current are proportional to the concentration of nickel and cadmium over the 1–180, and 0.5–200 ng mL^?1 with detection limits of 0.06 and 0.03 ng mL^?1 respectively. The sensitivity of method for determination of nickel and cadmium were obtained 0.54 and 0.98 nA mL ng^?1, respectively. The procedure was applied to simultaneous determination of nickel and cadmium in some real and synthetic artificial samples with satisfactory results.