Kinetics and mechanism of gold dissolution in thiourea solutions: Effect of sulfide ions

Chronoamperograms for gold in solutions containing 0.1 M thiourea, 0.5 M H₂SO₄, and catalytically active sulfide ions at the concentration c ₁ from 1 × 10^?5 to 4 × 10^?5 M are obtained at different potentials with the aid of an automated setup intended for renewing the electrode surface directly in the solution by cutting off a thin surface layer of the metal. It is shown that the results of measurements of the current practically coincide at a constant value of the product c ₁ t, where t is the time period elapsed after the renewal of the electrode surface. Such a coincidence testifies to a diffusion nature of processes that hamper accumulation of sulfide ions at the gold surface. This fact permitted the use of a procedure developed previously for the calculation of polarization curves at constant values of surface coverage θ by catalytically active ions. At θ = const, the voltammetric curves for gold in sulfide-containing thiourea solutions are shown to correspond to the Tafel equation. With the surface coverage increasing, the effective values of the exchange current i ₀, transfer coefficient α, and anodic reaction order with respect to thiourea P _a increase from the values i }~ 10^?5 A cm^?2, α }~ 0.12, and P _a = 0.2, which are characteristic of pure solutions, to 2 × 10^?4 A cm^?2, α }~ 0.5, and P _a = 1.1 (at θ }~ 0.5). An interpretation to the established regularities is given.     

Electrochemical Behavior of a Gold Electrode Modified with SWNTs/DDAB Films and Its Electrocatalytic Activity Towards Ascorbic Acid

A film of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) is prepared by casting a solution of SWNTs and DDAB onto the surface of a gold electrode. The electrochemical behavior of the film is investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. In a 0.10 M phosphate buffer solution of pH 7.0, the film-modified electrode gives a pair of redox peaks in cyclic voltamograms, with the anodic and cathodic peak potentials of 0.095 and 0.042 V. The peak currents change linearly with the scan rate at 30–500 mV/s. The modified electrode has an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA). The catalysis currents are proportional to the AA concentration in the range of 5.0 × 10⁻⁴ to 3.2 × 10⁻² M. The linear-regression equation is i (μA) = 1.2079 + 1.3987 × 10³ c _AA (M), with a correlation coefficient of 0.9995. The detection limit is 2.2 × 10⁻⁴ M (signal-to-noise ratio of 3). The Michaelis-Menten constant (K _m) is 1.0 × 10⁻⁴ M by the Lineweaver-Burk equation. __________ From Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 10, 2005, pp. 1193–1199. Original English Text Copyright ? 2005 by Cheng, Jin, Zhang. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Voltammetric Determination of Epinephrine with a 3‐Mercaptopropionic Acid Self‐Assembled Monolayer Modified Gold Electrode

Epinephrine (EP) could exhibit an anodic peak at a bare gold electrode, but it was very insensitive. However, when the bare gold electrode was modified with 3‐mercaptopropionic acid (3MPA) self‐assembled monolayer (3MPA SAM), the peaks of EP became more reversible and sensitive due to the accumulation and mediate efficiency of 3MPA SAM. Conditions such as solution pH, concentration of supporting electrolyte and accumulation time were optimized. Under the selected conditions (i.e., 0.02 M pH 6.8 sodium phosphate buffer, accumulation time: 2 min under open‐ circuit.), the height of the anodic peak at about 0.18 V (vs. SCE) was linear to EP concentration in the range of 2×10^?7 ?1×10^?6 M and 1×10^?6?5×10^?4 M with correlation coefficient of 0.995 and 0.999, respectively. When the 3MPA/Au was further modified with cysteamine, the interference of H₂O₂ and BrO₃^? was eliminated. But the resulting electrode still suffered from the interference of ascorbic acid. This method was used to determine the content of EP in adrenaline hydrochloride injections, and the recovery was in the range of 97.0% to 105.1%.     

Kinetics of silver electrodeposition from thiocarbamide solutions at a regular surface coverage with sulfide ions

Kinetics of silver electrodeposition in the presence of sulfide ions is studied on electrodes renewed by cutting off a thin surface layer, at a controlled time of contact of the “fresh” surface with the electrolyte. Solutions containing 10^?2 M AgNO₃, 0.1 M thiocarbamide, 0.5 M HClO₄, and from 2 × 10^?6 to 1.5 × 10^?5 M Na₂S are studied. It is shown that under the studied conditions, the effect of silver electrodeposition on the surface concentration of sulfide ions is insignificant. As the concentration of sulfide ions in solution and their coverage on the electrode surface θ increase, the cathodic polarization decreases. Tafel curves plotted for θ = const are used in estimating the exchange current i ₀ and the transfer coefficient α. It is shown that α ≈ 0.5 and weakly depends on θ, whereas the exchange current increases with the increase in θ by an approximately linear law from 10^?5 A/cm² at θ ? 0 to 10^?4 A/cm² at θ = 0.43. The obtained data are compared with the results of kinetic studies of silver anodic dissolution in similar solutions.     

Kinetics of silver dissolution in sulfide containing thiocarbamide electrolytes

Effective values of reaction order with respect to ligand P, transfer coefficient α, and exchange current i ₀ at constant silver surface coverages θ by sulfide ions are measured. The employed solutions contained from 0.4 to 0.05 M thiocarbamide, 0.5 M HClO₄, 10^?4 M AgNO₃, and from 10^?5 to 10^?4 M Na₂S. It is shown that the exchange current grows approximately linearly from 10^?5 to 1.5 × 10^?4 A/cm² at θ increase in the range from zero to 0.8, while α and P values grow negligibly in the ranges of 0.4–0.45 and 0.9–1.1, accordingly. The obtained results are compared with the data of similar studies of the gold behavior in acidic thiocarbamide solutions. The possible reasons for the different effects of sulfide ion chemisorption on the anodic dissolution of gold and silver in the studied solutions are discussed.     

Chemical and electrochemical behavior of metallic technetium in acidic media

The chemical and electrochemical properties of technetium metal were studied in 1–6 M HX and in 1 M NaX (pH 1 and 2.5), X = Cl, NO₃. The chemical dissolution rates of Tc metal were higher in HNO₃ than in HCl (i.e. 8.63 × 10^?5 mol cm^?2 h^?1 in 6 M HNO₃ versus 2.05 × 10^?9 mol cm^?2 h^?1 in 6 M HCl). The electrochemical dissolution rates in HNO₃ and HCl were similar and mainly depended on the electrochemical potential and the acid concentration. The optimum dissolution of Tc metal was obtained in 1 M HNO₃ at 1 V/AgAgCl (1.70 × 10^?3 mol cm^?2 h^?1). The dissolution potentials of Tc metal in nitric acid were in the range of 0.596–0.832 V/AgAgCl. Comparison of Tc behavior with Mo and Ru indicated that in HNO₃, the dissolution rate followed the order: Mo > Tc > Ru, and for dissolution potential the order: E _diss(Ru) > E _diss(Tc) > E _diss(Mo). The corrosion products of Tc metal were analyzed in HCl solution by UV–Visible spectroscopy and showed the presence of TcO₄ ^?. The surface of the electrode was characterized by microscopic techniques; it indicated that Tc metal preferentially corroded at the scratches formed during the polishing and no oxide layer was observed.     

Quartz crystal microbalance measurements of kinetic parameters of anodic dissolution of gold in thiocarbamide electrolytes in the presence of sulfide ions

As shown by quartz-crystal microbalance measurements, in the potential range from 0.0 to 0.55 V (NHE), sulfide ions adsorbed on the gold electrode surface accelerate the electrode reaction of anodic dissolution of gold in acidic thiocarbamide solutions. The microbalance determination of kinetic parameters at a constant electrode surface coverage with sulfide ions includes a special procedure developed for the determination of the gold dissolution rate. The conditions (the potential range and the potential scan rate) of independence of the dissolution rate from the diffusion limitations associated with the ligand delivery is determined. Under these conditions, the polarization curve is shown to be linear on semilogarithmic coordinates and correspond to the Tafel equation. In this potential range, the transfer coefficient α and the reaction order with respect to the ligand p are determined at a constant electrode surface coverage θ with adsorbed sulfide ions. It is shown that with the transition from the surface coverage with sulfide ions θ = 0.1 to θ = 0.8, the transfer coefficient α changes from 0.25 to 0.55, the exchange current (i ₀) changes from 10^?5 to 5 × 10^?5 A/cm², and the effective reaction order p with respect to the ligand changes from 0.2 to 1.3. The mentioned changes are associated not only with the acceleration of gold dissolution in the presence of chemisorbed sulfide ions but also with the changeover in the mechanism of this process. Quartz-crystal microbalance data on the gold dissolution rate qualitatively agree with the results of voltammetric measurements of a renewable gold electrode. A possible version of explanation of the catalytic effect of sulfide ion adsorption on the gold dissolution is put forward.     

Gold Dissolution Electrocatalysis in Thiourea Electrolytes in the Presence of Chemisorbed Sulfide Ions

Adding a microscopic quantity of sodium sulfide (～10^?5 M) into acid solutions of thiourea leads to a dramatic acceleration of anodic dissolution of gold. The acceleration effect is greater at larger thiourea concentrations (c) and longer times of the electrode contact with solution (Δt) before the beginning of measurements. The effect diminishes after a polarization curve passes through a maximum at E ? 0.5 V. Regularities of the gold dissolution in a solution containing 0.1 M thiourea and 0.5 M H₂SO₄ at given values of c and Δt are studied with use made of the technique of renewing the electrode surface by cutting off a thin surface layer of metal. The discovered regularities are given an explanation which is based on the assumption that the dissolution process is catalyzed by sulfide ions adsorbed on the electrode surface.     

Potential dependence of anodic current transients on the renewed gold surface in thallium-containing thiosulfate solutions

The effect of potential on the anodic current transient times τ_p, which were measured on the gold electrode surface renewed by cutting off a thin surface metal layer immediately in the thallium-containing thiosulfate solutions of compositions (M): 0.05 Na₂S₂O₃, 10^?5 to 10^?4 TlNO₃, and 0.25 K₂SO₄, is studied. It is shown that the logarithm of inverse transient times 1/τ_p linearly depends on the electrode potential. Using the microgravimetrical method, it is found that, in the studied potential range, the amount of chemisorbed thallium ions only slightly depends on the potential, and at E = 0.3 V, it is approximately 0.12 μg/cm². It is evidenced that the transients reaches a plateau, when an equilibrium surface concentration of catalyst is reached. The value 1/τ_p reflects the rate of electrochemical oxidation of preliminarily adsorbed thallium(I) ions with the formation of catalytically active thallium(III) ions, and the first electron transfer is the limiting stage of the process.     

Catalytic Effect on Silver Electrodeposition of Gold Deposited on Carbon Electrodes

A new methodology, based on silver electrocatalytic deposition and designed to quantify gold deposited onto carbon paste electrode (CPE) and glassy carbon electrode (GCE), has been developed in this work. Silver (prepared in 1.0 M NH₃) electrodeposition at ?0.13 V occurs only when gold is previously deposited at an adequate potential on the electrode surface for a fixed period of time. When a CPE is used as working electrode, an adequate oxidation of gold is necessary. This oxidation is carried out in both 0.1 M NaOH and 0.1 M H₂SO₄ at oxidation potentials. When a GCE is used as working electrode, the oxidation steps are not necessary. Moreover, a cleaning step in KCN, which removes gold from electrode surface, is included. To obtain reproducibility in the analytical signal, the surface of the electrodes must be suitably pretreated; this electrodic pretreatment depends on the kind of electrode used as working electrode. Low detection limits (5.0×10^?10 M) for short gold deposition times (10 min for CPE and 5 min for GCE) were achieved with this novel methodology. Finally, sodium aurothiomalate can be quantified using silver electrocatalytic deposition and GCE as working electrode. Good linear relationship between silver anodic stripping peak and aurothiomalate concentration was found from 5.0×10^?10 M to 1.0×10^?8 M.     

The effect of sulfide ion chemisorption on the kinetics of gold dissolution in cyanide solutions

The effect of sodium sulfide additions (from 5 × 10^?6 to 2 × 10^?5 M) on the kinetics of gold dissolution in cyanide solutions of the following composition, M: 0.1 KCN, 0.02 KAu(CN)₂, 0.5 K₂SO₄, pH 10–13 is studied. Hydrosulfide ions are shown to exert a strong catalytic effect on the dissolution kinetics of this metal in a potential range where their adsorption is accompanied by the formation of polysulfides (?0.2 < E < 0.4 V). The reaction acceleration depend on the potential and is 100-fold for E ? 0.1 V. The effect becomes more pronounced as the concentration of hydrosulfide ions increases to 10^?4 M and is almost pH-independent in the pH range from 10 to 13. An attempt to explain the found relationships is undertaken.     

Transport properties of separating membranes MF-4SK during alkaline electrolysis of water

The transport properties of separating membranes MF-4SK are studied during electrolysis of H₂O in solutions of KOH. The effective diffusion coefficients of molecules of KOH and H₂O and the transfer coefficients of ions K⁺ and OH^? and molecules of H₂O are measured at KOH concentrations reaching 11 M, currents reaching 0.31 A cm^?2, at ambient temperature and at 80°C. In contact with a KOH solution in the concentration interval 0.1 to 11 M, the membranes that initially swelled in H₂O lose a considerable fraction of water that was present in them and the overall volume of clusters and solution-filled channels in them noticeably decreases. The coefficients of transfer by current of ions K⁺ out of anodic compartment into cathodic and the OH^? ions in the reverse direction, respectively, happen to be equal to about 0.6 and 0.4 at ambient temperature and 0.8 and 0.2 at 80°C. The coefficients of transfer of water molecules out of the anodic volume into the cathodic volume in the process of electrolysis happen to be in the limits 1.6–1.9 at ambient temperature and in the limits 2.2–2.8 at 80°C. The effective diffusion coefficients of molecules of KOH and H₂O at moderate concentrations of KOH (5.6 M) amount to ～2.6 × 10^?7 and 30 × 10^?7 cm²s^?1 at ambient temperature and ～4 × 10^?7 and 61 × 10^?7 cm²s^?1 at 80°C, respectively. At a high concentration of KOH (～10 M) these quantities substantially diminish.     

Direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of hemoglobin on a gold ion implantation-modified indium tin oxide electrode

In this paper, a gold nanoparticle-modified indium tin oxide electrode (Au/ITO) was prepared without the use of any cross-linker or stabilizer reagent. The prepared Au/ITO was used as a new platform to achieve the direct electron transfer between Hb and the modified electrode. The proposed electrode exhibited a pair of well-defined redox peaks with a formal potential of ?0.073 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). The immobilized Hb showed excellent electrocatalytic activity toward H₂O₂ and the electrocatalytic current values were linear with the increasing concentration of H₂O₂ ranging from 1.0?×?10^?6?M to 7.0?×?10^?4?M. The detection limit was 2.0?×?10^?7?M (S/N?=?3) and the Michaelis–Menten constant was calculated to be 0.2 mM. The proposed electrode also showed high selectivity, long-term stability, and good reproducibility.     

Potentiometric sensors based on organic ion exchangers for determining tetraalkylammonium salts

Potentiometric sensors with plasticized polymer membranes based on organic ion exchangers, tetraalkylammonium dodecyl sulfates (benzyldimethyldodecylammonium, benzyldimethyltetradecylammonium, dimethyldistearylammonium), have been proposed for the determination of quaternary ammonium salts in model solutions and KATAPAV technical solutions. The thermal stability, composition, and solubility product have been estimated. It has been shown that ion associates are stable to 60?C70°C, K _S varies in the range from 2 × 10^?8 to 5 × 10^?10. The basic electrochemical parameters of the sensors have been determined as well, such as linearity ranges of the electrode function (5 × 10^?5 (5 × 10^?6)?1 × 10^?2 (1 × 10^?3) M) and slopes of the electrode functions (47?C59 mV/pc), response time (60?C90 sec), potential drift (2?C3 mV/day), operation period (3?C4 months), limits of detection for tetramethylammonium salts (1 × 10^?5?4 × 10^?7 M).     

Electrochemical Oxidation of Methionine Mediated by a Fullerene‐C60 Modified Gold Electrode

The usefulness of a C₆₀‐fullerene modified gold (Au) electrode in mediating the oxidation of methionine in the presence of potassium ions electrolyte has been demonstrated. During cyclic voltammetry, an oxidation peak of methionine appearing at +1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl was observed. The oxidation current of methionine is enhanced by about 2 times using a C₆₀ modified gold electrode. The current enhancement is significantly dependent on pH, temperature and C₆₀ dosage. Calibration plot reveals linearity of up to 0.1 mM with a current sensitivity of close to 50 mA L mol^?1 and detection limit of 8.2×10^?6 M. The variation of scan rate study shows that the system undergoes diffusion‐controlled process. Diffusion coefficient and rate constant of methionine were determined using hydrodynamic method (rotating disk electrode) with values of 1.11×10^?5 cm² s^?1 and 0.0026 cm s^?1 respectively for unmodified electrode while the values of diffusion coefficient and rate constant of methionine using C₆₀ modified Au electrode are 5.7×10^?6 cm² s^?1 and 0.0021 cm s^?1 respectively.     

Electrooxidation and Amperometric Detection of Ascorbic Acid at GC Electrode Modified by Electropolymerization of N,N‐Dimethylaniline

The polymer film of N,N‐dimethylaniline (DMA) is deposited on the electrochemically pretreated glassy carbon (GC) electrode by continuous electrooxidation of the monomer. This poly N,N‐dimethylaniline (PDMA) film‐coated electrode can be used as an amperometric sensor of ascorbic acid (AA). The polymer film (thickness (?): 0.3±0.02 μm) having positive charge in its backbone attracts the anionic species AA. Thus, the anodic peak potential (350 mV vs. Ag|AgCl|NaCl_(sat)) for the oxidation of AA at the bare electrode is largely shifted to the negative value (150 mV) at this electrode. The PDMA film‐coated electrode is stable in acidic, alkaline and neutral media and can sense AA at different pH's. The diffusion coefficients of AA in solution (D) and in film (D_s) were estimated by rotating disk electrode voltammetry: D=(5.5±0.1)×10^?6 cm² s^?1 and D_s=(6.3±0.2)×10^?8, (6.0±0.2)×10^?8 and (4.7±0.2)×10^?8 cm² s^?1 for 0.5, 1.5 and 3.0 mM AA, respectively. A permeability of AA through the PDMA film was found to decrease with increasing the concentration of AA in the solution. In the chronoamperometry, the current response for the oxidation of AA at different times elapsed after potential‐step application is linearly increased with the increase in AA concentration in a wide range of its concentration from 25 μM to 1.65 mM. In the hydrodynamic amperometry, a successive addition of 10 μM AA caused the successive increase in current response with equal amplitude and the sensitivity was calculated as 0.178 μA cm^?2 μM^?1. So, the fouling of the electrode surface caused by the oxidized product of AA is markedly eliminated at this PDMA film‐coated electrode. A flow injection analysis based on the present electrode was performed to estimate the concentration of vitamin C in fruit juice.     

Fabrication of a micro-direct methanol fuel cell using microfluidics

A direct-methanol fuel cell containing three parts: microchannels, electrodes, and a proton exchange membrane (PEM), was investigated. Nafion resin (NR) and polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene (PS) were used as PEMs. Preparation of PEMs, including compositing with other polymers and their solubility, was performed and their proton conductivity was measured by a four point probe. The results showed that the 5 % Nafion resin has lower conductivity than the 5 % PS solution. The micro-fuel cell contained two acrylic channels, PEM, and two platinum catalyst electrodes on a silicon wafer. The assembled micro-fuel cells used 2 M methanol at the flow rate of 1.5 mL min^?1 in the anode channel and 5 × 10^?3 M KMnO₄ at the flow rate of 1.5 mL min^?1 in the cathode channel. The micro-fuel cell with the electrode distance of 300 ??m provided the power density of 59.16 ??W cm^?2 and the current density of 125.60 ??A cm^?2 at 0.47 V.     

Effect of Thallium Ions on Anodic Dissolution of Gold in Alkali–Cyanide Electrolytes at Potentials More Positive Than the NHE Potential

The gold dissolution rate iin solutions containing 0.1 M KOH, 0.1 M KCN, and 2.5 × 10^–7to 1.5 × 10^–5M TlNO₃is studied as a function of potential Eof the electrode whose surface is renewed prior to each experiment, the TlNO₃concentration c, and the time tof the electrode contact with solution. At cexceeding 0.5 × 10^–5M and t 0, the rate is 1.5–2 times that at c= 0. Initial portions of ivs. tcurves in the absence and presence of TlNO₃coincide only at cbelow 10^–6M. Potentiostatic and potentiodynamic measurements show that, at positive E, only small coverages of the electrode surface with thallium are obtained, which make no impact on iat E< 0 and heavily increase it at 0 < E< 0.3 V. The discovered effects are attributed to the formation, during the adsorption of oxidized thallium forms, of dipoles comprising thallium adions and gold atoms. Presumably, the dipoles face the gold with their negative ends and make the potential of zero free charge more negative.     

Improved Voltammetric Response of L‐Tyrosine on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes‐Ionic Liquid Composite Coated Glassy Electrodes in the Presence of Cupric Ion

L ‐Tyrosine can exhibit a small anodic peak on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) coated glassy carbon electrodes (GCE). At pH 5.5 its peak potential is 0.70 V (vs. SCE). When an ionic liquid (i.e., 1‐octyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [omim][PF₆]) is introduced on the MWCNT coat, the peak becomes bigger. Furthermore, in the presence of Cu²⁺ ion the anodic peak of L ‐tyrosine increases further due to the formation of Cu²⁺‐L ‐tyrosine complex, while the peak potential keeps unchanged. Therefore, a sensitive voltammetry based on the oxidation of Cu²⁺‐L ‐tyrosine complex on MWCNTs‐[omim][PF₆] composite coated electrode is developed for L ‐tyrosine. Under the optimized conditions, the anodic peak current is linear to L ‐tyrosine concentration in the range of 1×10^?8–5×10^?6 M, and the detection limit is 8×10^?9 M. The modified electrode shows good reproducibility and stability. In addition, the voltammetric behavior of other amino acids is explored. It is found that among them tryptophan (Trp) and histidine (His) can also produce sensitive anodic peak under same experimental conditions, and their detection limits are 4×10^?9 M and 4×10^?6 M, respectively.     

The kinetics of reduction of palladium (II) complexes with β-alanine at dropping mercury electrode and the complexes’ stability constants

By using dc and ac polarography, the kinetics of electroreduction of the palladium (II) complexes with β-alanine at a dropping mercury electrode was studied in solutions with the palladium (II) concentration from 2 × 10^?5 to 2 × 10^?4 M and variable β-alanine and sodium perchlorate concentrations (pH 6–12). One polarographic wave was observed in solutions with pH 9 and 10 at the β-alanine overall concentration of c _βala = 1 × 10^?3 to 5 × 10^?2 M; two waves, at lower pH or higher c _βala. It was concluded on the formation of different forms of palladium (II) complexes in the studied solutions; the complexes contained two to four β-alanine coordinated anions. Using the limiting diffusion currents for the two waves at pH 9–11 and c _βala = 0.1 and 0.5 M, the stepwise stability constant for the Pd(βala) ₄ ^2? complex was calculated. Using two ac peaks observed at pH 7–8 and c _βala = 1 × 10^?2 to 0.1 M, the stepwise stability constant for the Pd(βala) ₃ ^? . was calculated. The perchlorate ions adsorbed at the dropping mercury electrode, as well as βala^? anions at their higher concentrations, hamper the electroreduction of the palladium (II) complexes with β-alanine.