Electrochemical Investigation of Heavy Metal Ion Transfer Across the Water/1,2‐Dichloroethane Interface Assisted by 9‐Ethyl‐3‐Carbazolecarboxaldehyde‐Thiosemicarbazone

The transfer of heavy metal ions across the polarized water/1,2‐dichloroethane (1,2‐DCE) interface assisted by 9‐ethyl‐3‐carbazolecarboxaldehyde‐thiosemicarbazone (ECCAT) in the 1,2‐DCE phase has been studied by cyclic voltammetry. Voltammetric waves of Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions were reversible and quasi‐reversible, respectively, whereas that of Hg(II) and Zn(II) ion were irreversible. The voltammogram of Cu(II) ion showed a two‐step wave, however the nature of the transfer could not be satisfactorily evaluated by analyzing the cyclic voltammetric data. When Ni(II) and Co(II) was used no peak was visible under the experimental conditions used in this study. The dependence of the half‐wave potentials of Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions on the ligand concentration reveals that their ion‐transfer is assisted by the formation of 1:3 metal‐ECCAT complex in 1,2‐DCE. The over‐all association constants of [Pb(ECCAT)₃]²⁺ and [Cd(ECCAT)₃]²⁺ complexes in DCE‐phase have been determined to be log β =14.03 and log β =15.44, respectively.     

Catalytic Activity of Alkali Metal Cations for the Chemical Oxygen Reduction Reaction in a Biphasic Liquid System Probed by Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

Chemical reduction of dioxygen in organic solvents for the production of reactive oxygen species or the concomitant oxidation of organic substrates can be enhanced by the separation of products and educts in biphasic liquid systems. Here, the coupled electron and ion transfer processes is studied as well as reagent fluxes across the liquid|liquid interface for the chemical reduction of dioxygen by decamethylferrocene (DMFc) in a dichloroethane-based organic electrolyte forming an interface with an aqueous electrolyte containing alkali metal ions. This interface is stabilized at the orifice of a pipette, across which a Galvani potential difference is externally applied and precisely adjusted to enforce the transfer of different alkali metal ions from the aqueous to the organic electrolyte. The oxygen reduction is followed by H₂O₂ detection in the aqueous phase close to the interface by a microelectrode of a scanning electrochemical microscope (SECM). The results prove a strong catalytic effect of hydrated alkali metal ions on the formation rate of H₂O₂, which varies systematically with the acidity of the transferred alkali metal ions in the organic phase.     

Composite PET Membrane with Nanostructured Ag/AgTCNQ Schottky Junctions: Electrochemical Nanofabrication and Charge‐Transfer Properties

Large‐area nanostructured Ag/Ag‐tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) Schottky junctions are fabricated electrochemically on a mesoporous polyethylene terephthalate (PET) membrane‐supported water/1, 2‐dichloroethane (DCE) interface. When the interface is polarized, Ag⁺ ions transfer across the PET membrane from the aqueous phase and are reduced to form metallic Ag on the PET membrane, which reacts further with tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) in the DCE phase to form nanostructured Ag/AgTCNQ Schottky junctions. Once the mesoporous membrane is blocked by metallic Ag, a bipolar mechanism is proposed to explain the successive growth of AgTCNQ nanorods and Ag film on each side of the PET membrane. Due to the well‐formed nanostructure of Ag/AgTCNQ Schottky junctions, the direct electrochemical behavior is observed, which is essential to explain the physicochemical mechanism of its electric performance. Moreover, the composite PET membrane with nanostructured Ag/AgTCNQ Schottky junctions is tailorable and can be assembled directly into electric devices without any pretreatment.     

Detection of hydrogen peroxide produced at a liquid/liquid interface using scanning electrochemical microscopy

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) was used to monitor in situ hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) produced at a polarized water/1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface. The water/DCE interface was formed between a DCE droplet containing decamethylferrocene (DMFc) supported on a solid electrode and an acidic aqueous solution. H₂O₂ was generated by reducing oxygen with DMFc at the water/DCE interface, and was detected with a SECM tip positioned in the vicinity of the interface using a substrate generation/tip collection mode. This work shows unambiguously how the H₂O₂ generation depends on the polarization of the liquid/liquid interface, and how proton-coupled electron transfer reactions can be controlled at liquid/liquid interfaces.     

Distribution mechanism of protonated l,10-phenanthroline between unbuffered aqueous and 1,2-dichloroethane phases

The faradaic ion transfer of protonated l.iO-phenanthroline [H(Phen)+] across the interface between unbuffered aqueous and 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) solutions was investigated by means of current scan polarography at ascending aqueous electrolyte electrode, as well as chronopotentiometry. It follows from the splitting of the waves observed at the pH of aqueous phase (sodium sulfate solution) between 2.5–3.8 that neutral reagent (Phen) distributes into the aqueous phase, where it is protonated. The positive wave is associated with the mass transfer controlled by the H+influx, whereas the negative one is by the Phen influx. The reverse chronopotentiometry indicated that all the protonated transfer processes were reversible. A good agreement between experimental results and theoretical treatment was achieved. The aqueous acid dissociation constant of protonated Phen, K₂ can be evaluated from the dependence of the wave heights on the pH in the base of the equilibrium.     

Kinetic Analysis of a Two‐Phase EC Mechanism with Concomitant Lateral Processes

Electrochemical transfer of azo dye fast red TR across the water/1,2 – dichloroethane (DCE) interface followed by the coupling reaction with 1‐naphthylamine in the organic phase is studied. Pseudo first order rate constants of this reaction were obtained by fitting the experimental I_p?/I_p+ ratio under different experimental conditions with the theoretical values reported by Nicholson and Shain. The occurrence of lateral processes is demonstrated (partition of the azo dye non assisted by potential and electrochemical transfer of the protons generated in the coupling reaction), which constrains the accurate determination of the kinetic parameters.     

Electrochemical evidence of catalysis of oxygen reduction at the polarized liquid–liquid interface by tetraphenylporphyrin monoacid and diacid

Cyclic voltammetry is used to study the role of 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21H,23H-porphine (H₂TPP) in the reduction of molecular oxygen by decamethylferrocene (DMFc) at the polarized water|1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface. It is shown that this rather slow reaction proceeds remarkably faster in the presence of tetraphenylporphyrin monoacid (H₃TPP⁺) and diacid (H₄TPP²⁺), which are formed in DCE by the successive transfer of two protons from the acidified aqueous phase. A mechanism is proposed, which includes the formation of adduct between H₃TPP⁺ or H₄TPP²⁺ and O₂ that is followed by electron transfer from DMFc to the adduct leading to the observed production of DMFc⁺ and to the regeneration of H₂TPP or H₃TPP⁺, respectively.     

Cyclic voltammetry of highly hydrophilic ions at a supported liquid membrane

Cyclic voltammetry has been used to study the coupling of ion transfer reactions at a liquid membrane. The liquids are either supported by a porous hydrophobic membrane (polyvinylidene difluoride, PVDF) when the organic solvent is non-volatile (o-nitrophenyloctylether) or are merely a free standing organic solvent layer such as 1,2-dichloroethane comprised between two hydrophilic dialysis membranes supporting the adjacent aqueous phases. The passage of current across the liquid membrane is associated with two ion transfer reactions across the two polarised liquid liquid interfaces in series. It is shown that it is possible to study the transfer of highly hydrophilic ions at one interface by limiting the mass transfer of the other ion transfer reaction at the other interface. Indeed, for systems comprising an ion M in one aqueous phase and a reference ion R partitioned between the membrane and the other aqueous phase, the observed and simulated cyclic voltammograms have a half-wave potential determined by the Gibbs energy of transfer of M transferring at one interface and by the limiting mass transfer of R at the other interface. This new methodology opens a way to measure the Gibbs energy of transfer of highly hydrophilic or hydrophobic ions, which usually limits the potential window at single liquid liquid interfaces (ITIES).     

Facilitated Ion Transfer Across the Micro-liquid/Liquid Interface Supported at the Tip of a Silanized Micropipette

IntroductionIon transfer across a liquid/liquid( L/L) inter-face or an interface between two immiscible elec-trolyte solutions( ITIES) plays a significant role inmany biochemical fields and technological systemsfrom biological membrane and drug delivery to ex-traction process and chemical sensors[1] . Theminiaturization of ITIESwas firstachieved by Tay-lor and Girault via supporting the interface at thetip of a micropipette in1 986[2 ] .Later on a nano-ITIES supported at a nanopipette …     

细胞色素c在微-液/液界面上电化学行为的研究

本文采用电化学技术,研究了细胞色素c（Cyt c）在玻璃微米管尖端处形成的微-水/1,2-二氯乙烷（W/DCE）界面上的电化学行为.选用四丁基铵四苯硼（TBAT-PB）、四丁基铵四氯代苯硼（TBATPBCl）以及四丁基铵四氟代苯硼（TBATPBF）三种不同的有机相支持电解质来研究Cyt c在W/DCE界面上的反应.在电势窗较窄的含TBATPB体系中只能够观察到吸附过程;在电势窗较宽的含TBATPBCl和TBATPBF的体系中,可以同时观察到吸附与离子转移过程.当Cyt c浓度较低时,两种过程都可以观察到;当Cyt c浓度较高时,主要是吸附.文中对这些过程的机理进行了探讨.     

Facilitated Transfer of Alkali Metal Ions by a Tetraester Derivative of Thiacalix[4]arene at the Liquid–Liquid Interface

The facilitated transfer of alkali metal ions (Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺, and Cs⁺) by 25,26,27,28‐tetraethoxycarbonylmethoxy‐thiacalix[4]arene across the water/1,2‐dichloroethane interface was investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The dependence of the half‐wave transfer potential on the metal and ligand concentrations was used to formulate the stoichiometric ratio and to evaluate the association constants of the complexes formed between ionophore and metal ions. While the facilitated transfer of Li⁺ ion was not observed across the water/1,2‐dichloroethane interface, the facilitated transfers were observed by formation of 1 : 1 (metal:ionophore) complex for Na⁺, K⁺, and Rb⁺ ions except for Cs⁺ ion. In the case of Cs⁺ a 1 : 2 (metal:ionophore) complex was obtained from its special electrochemical response to the variation of ligand concentrations in the organic phase. The logarithms of the complex association constants, for facilitated transfer of Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺, and Cs⁺, were estimated as 6.52, 7.75, 7.91 (log β₁°), and 8.36 (log β₂°), respectively.     

Polarised liquid/liquid micro-interfaces move during charge transfer

The externally polarised micro-interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES) has been visualised during ion transfer using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). A water|1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) micro-interface was formed at the tip of a glass micropipette. The DCE phase contained Nile Red, a fluorophore, which was used to visualise movements in the interface with CLSM. During voltammetric transfer of tetraethylammonium cation from the aqueous phase to DCE (in the micropipette), the interface – with and without adsorbed lipid – was found to undergo significant expansion. The movement of the interface was found to be completely reversible and rapid, as evident from potential step measurements. The studies reported herein have implications for studies of charge transfer at micro-ITIES which generally assume a static interface.     

Phosphate and arsenate electro-insertion processes into a N,N,N′,N′-tetraoctylphenylenediamine redox liquid

The electro-insertion of ions is a well-known phenomenon, which allows the transfer of anions or cations across phase boundaries to be monitored and driven electro-chemically. Extremely hydrophilic anions, such as phosphate and arsenate, are not usually observed to undergo electro-insertion. It is shown here that at organic redox liquid|water|electrode triple interfaces these anions can be forced electro-chemically to transfer into organic media.The transfer process of phosphate anions from aqueous buffer solutions into organic microdroplets of the redox liquid N,N,N^′,N^′-tetraoctylphenylenediamine (TOPD) is pH and concentration sensitive. It is shown that phosphate is transferred in the form of PO₄HK⁻ in the presence of phosphate buffer. Two distinct potential regions are identified and attributed to (i) interfacial redox processes at the liquid|liquid interface associated with deprotonation and (ii) bulk redox processes associated with anion transfer from the aqueous to the organic phase.The comparison of phosphate and arsenate electro-insertion processes suggests that arsenate is less hydrophilic and transferred into the organic phase preferentially.     

Hydrogen Evolution at Liquid–Liquid Interfaces

Blowing bubbles : Hydrogen evolution by proton reduction with [(C₅Me₅)₂Fe] occurs at a soft interface between water and 1,2‐dichloroethane (DCE). The reaction proceeds by proton transfer assisted by [(C₅Me₅)₂Fe] across the water–DCE interface with subsequent proton reduction in DCE. The interface essentially acts as a proton pump, allowing hydrogen evolution by directly using the aqueous proton.

     

Electrocatalytic reduction of Molecular Oxygen with a Copper (II) Coordination Polymer

Oxygen reduction at the polarized water/1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface catalyzed by a Cu (II) coordination polymer (Cu–pol) was studied with two lipophilic electron donors ferrocene (Fc) and tetrathiafulvalene (TTF). The results of the ion transfer voltammetry and two-phase shake flask experiments suggest proceeding of the catalytic reaction as proton-coupled electron transfer reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide and water. In this process, while the protons supplied from the aqueous phase, the electrons provided from the organic phase by the weak electron donor, Fc. The O₂ molecule takes a superoxide structure with Cu–pol which resulted to hydrogen peroxide or water on reduction. Furthermore, the results revealed that the apparent rate constant of TTF + Cu-pol is higher than that of Fc + Cu-pol system due to the faster kinetic reaction of TTF with respect to Fc.     

Measurement of the forward and back rate constants for electron transfer at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions using scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM): Theory and experiment

A new numerical model is developed for the scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) feedback mode for reversible electron transfer (ET) processes at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES). Results from this model were compared with data obtained using an earlier SECM feedback model in which the back reaction was not considered, to identify when the latter will be important. The dependence of the ET rate constant for the oxidation of 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane radical anion (TCNQ⁻) in 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) by aqueous ferricyanide on the interfacial potential drop (Δ_w^oφ) was studied using SECM. The Δ_w^oφ value was varied by changing the concentration of NaClO₄ in the aqueous phase while a fixed concentration of organic electrolyte, tetra-n-hexylammonium perchlorate, was used in the DCE phase. The results obtained were compared to earlier published studies on the forward reaction between TCNQ in DCE and aqueous ferrocyanide. Both the forward and back ET rate constants were found to depend strongly on the interfacial potential drop, with measured ET coefficients in the region of 0.5–0.6. A similar ET rate constant was observed at zero driving force for both the forward and back reactions. These experimental results suggest that the Butler–Volmer model applies to ET at the ITIES, when the driving force for the reaction is low, and under conditions of relatively high ionic strength in both the aqueous and organic phases.     

Evaluation of Gibbs free energy for the transfer of a highly hydrophilic ion from an acidic aqueous solution to an organic solution based on ion pair extraction

A method to determine the standard Gibbs free energy for the transfer, ΔG°_tr, of a highly hydrophilic metal ion from an aqueous solution, W, in the presence of high concentration of H⁺ to an organic solution, O, was proposed based on the theoretical consideration of the distribution process of ions between W and O. The usefulness of the proposed method was verified experimentally by comparing ΔG°_tr of Mg²⁺ determined by the method with that obtained by voltammetry for the ion transfer at the W|O interface. The O examined were nitrobenzene (NB) and 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE). By applying the proposed method, ΔG°_tr of NpO₂⁺, UO₂²⁺, NpO₂²⁺ and PuO₂²⁺ from an acidic W to NB were determined.     

Electrochemical determination of lead and lead ion transfer at liquid-liquid interfaces

The transfer behavior of lead (II) ion at a liquid-liquid interface, facilitated by neutral carriers (polyethylene glycols), is studied by an electrochemical method. The transfer process is discussed in terms of the formation of complexes in two phases and attributed to the transfer of a complex ion across the interface. The apparent standard transfer potential, ΔwoφPbL2+o, apparent standard Gibbs energy of transfer, ΔwoGPbL2+o, and the dissociation constant of the complex, KPbL2+, in the aqueous phase are obtained from the experimental data. The results suggest a new electrochemical method for the determination of lead.     

Transfer of actinide ion at the interface between aqueous and nitrobenzene solutions studied by controlled-potential electrolysis at the interface

A novel electrochemical method based on controlled-potential electrolysis has been developed for the elucidation of the ion transfer at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES). A relationship between the applied interfacial potential (E_app) and the amount of the ion transferred (A_tr) was investigated after an electrolytic equilibrium was attained by controlled-potential electrolysis. The A_tr was determined chemically or radiometrically instead of by current measurement. It was found that (i) controlled-potential electrolysis was applicable to the study of the transfer of such hydrophilic ions as transition metal ions which gave no appreciable current within the potential window in voltammetry or polarography at ITIES, (ii) controlled-potential electrolysis in combination with a sensitive analytical method enabled a study of the transfer reaction of an ion of very dilute concentration, and (iii) even when the transfer reaction of an ion was irreversible or quasi-reversible, a standard ion transfer potential could be determined by controlled-potential electrolysis without using a kinetic parameter. The controlled-potential electrolysis method developed was applied to the transfer reactions of actinide ions such as UO₂ ²⁺ and Am³⁺ from aqueous solution to nitrobenzene solution in the absence or presence of an ionophore facilitating the transfer. The Gibbs energy for the transfer of actinide ion and a stability constant of the complex between an actinide ion and the ionophore in nitrobenzene solution were determined from log D versus E_app plots (D the ratio of the concentration of the ion in nitrobenzene solution to that in aqueous solution). The feasibility of controlled-potential electrolysis as a method for electrolytic separation of actinide ions is discussed.