Voltammetry of copper species in estuarine waters: Part I. Electrochemistry of copper species in chloride media

Theoretical and experimental voltammetric studies of copper reduction in chloride media show that electrodeposition on the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) is controlled by competitive reduction between Cu(II) organic species and the Cu(I)Cl₂^? intermediate. For reversible Cu(II) species reduction, the change from organic ligand to chloride control of the final reduction step can be predicted by thermodynamic calculation. On the other hand in irreversible systems (e.g. estuarine waters) involvement of the CuCl₂^? intermedite in the electrodeposition is more complex and can occur both before and after amalgamation.     

Stripping voltammetry of manganese based on chelate adsorption at the hanging mercury drop electrode

A novel electrochemical stripping approach for the trace measurement of manganese is presented. The metal chelate with erichrome black T is adsorbed on a hanging mercury drop electrode, and the subsequent reduction current of the accumulated chelate is measured by voltammetry. Adsorptive preconcentration for 5 min results in a detection limit of 6 × 10^?10 M (32 l^?1). Cyclic voltammetry is used to characterize the redox and interfacial processes. Optimal experimental conditions include a 0.02 M piperazine-N,N′-bis(2-ethanesulfonic acid) solution (pH 12) containing 1 × 10^?6 M eriochrome black T, a preconcentration potential of ?0.80 V, and a linear potential scan. The response is linear up to 2.9 × 10^?7 M, and the relative standard deviation at 1.8 × 10^?7 M is 1.5%. The effects of possible interferences from metal ions or organic surfactants are evaluated.     

Voltammetry of copper species in estuarine waters: Part II. Copper species reduction at the HMDE in estuarine waters

Estuarine waters have been assayed by stripping polarography (pseudopolarography). It is shown that adsorption mechanisms are significant in the reduction of Cu organic associations in estuarine waters. Also, by decreasing pH or adding Cu(II) the importance of the CuCl₂^? state in the electroreduction increases until reversible CuCl₂^? reduction is observed. This confirms previous predictions [J. Electroanal. Chem., 164 (1984) 237].Voltammetric titrations of estuarine waters with added Cu have been studied. In the course of the titration CuCl₂^? becomes stabilished during the electroreduction. At a later stage, all ligand sites are titrated and the full current sensitivity to CuCl₂^? is observed.     

Reversible and irreversible adsorption of surfactants at a hanging mercury drop electrode.

The adsorption-desorption phenomena of surfactants were studied by measuring differential capacity-potential curves in a static solution and differential capacity-time curves in a flowing solution. The surfactants investigated were Aerosol OT, cetylpyridinium chloride, Hyamin 1622, tetrabutylammonium bromide, Triton X-100 and trioctylphosphineoxide. The differential capacity-potential and differential capacity-time curves for these surfactants showed different shapes, with and without peaks. The differential capacity-time curves were used to study the adsorption reversibility of the surfactants at a mercury electrode. The adsorptions of Hyamin 1622 and Triton X-100 were irreversible at all the potentials investigated. The adsorptions of Aerosol OT and trioctylphosphineoxide were irreversible except at the potential more positive than -0.2 V. The adsorption of tetrabutylammonium bromide was almost reversible at any potential investigated. The adsorption of cetylpyridinium chloride was complicated, indicating different orientations of adsorption.     

Cathodic stripping voltammetry of technetium in the tetraphenylarsonium chloride/chloroform extract at a hanging mercury drop electrode

Technetium(VII) was separated from interfering substances by extraction with 0.01M tetraphenylarsonium chloride in chloroform. To avoid back-extraction, enrichment at the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) has been carried out directly in the organic phase after addition of 0.01M NaOH as an electrolyte and ethanol as a homogenized agent. By application of a deposition voltage of –1.6 V, as well as DPCSV, a distinct current signal at –0.26 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) was obtained. The detection limit was found to be 3·10^–8 M Tc.     

Catalytic currents of albumin at the hanging mercury drop electrode

Bovine serum albumin (BSA), as well as completely reduced BSA denoted by P (SH)₃₅, are adsorbed on the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) from alkaline buffer solutions. When time is allowed, a monolayer is adsorbed from very dilute (10^?9M) BSA solutions in ammoniacal and borate buffers. With a monolayer of adsorbed protein the voltammograms at the HMDE are then identical in a given ammoniacal or borax buffer containing cobalt(III) or (II) and different BSA concentrations. Voltammograms of P (SH)₃₅ are virtually identical with those of native BSA. At the HMDE the second Brdi?ka current is proportional to concentration of cobalt(III) or (II) and the first current nearly so. Incompletely or completely adsorbed BSA or P (SH)₃₅ is not desorbed on keeping the HMDE for one hour in ammonia buffers. An incomplete layer of adsorbed BSA or P (SH)₃₅ is relatively rapidly desorbed at ?1.6 V (vs. SCE) and a complete film at ?1.65 V, some desorption occurring at ?1.6 V. Upon desorption, the second Brdi?ka current decreases faster than the first one; this is particularly striking in 1 M ammonia buffer. The rate of desorption is increased by calcium chloride, but the rate of adsorption is not, or only slightly, increased in the presence of calcium. Incomplete adsorption occurs at ?1.60 V (vs. SCE) and no adsorption at ?1.65 V. Indications are obtained that “presodium currents” yield a slight plateau at ?1.67 to ?1.70 V, the plateau currents being attributed to adsorbed BSA, while unadsorbed BSA yields catalytic currents without a plateau, the currents merging with the residual one of the buffer. Calcium chloride greatly increases the presodium currents. From many kinetic data obtained at the dropping mercury electrode (DME) and from results at the HMDE it is concluded that, depending on the BSA concentration, Brdi?ka currents at the DME are partly of a kinetic and partly of a surface adsorption nature and partly diffusion-controlled. Adsorption equilibrium is not attained at the DME at 25° at concentrations of BSA smaller than 10^?6M.     

Electrochemical behaviour of tilmicosin at the hanging mercury drop electrode

The electrochemical behaviour of tilmicosin (TIM) was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and square-wave voltammetry in Britton-Robinson buffers (pH 2–12). The voltammograms of TIM showed one-irreversible peak which attributed to reduction of the >C=C< group in the entire pH values. However, an additional peak was shown over the pH range 2.00 to 4.00. Its peak potential is more positive potential from that of >C=C< group, and its potential was not practically dependent on the pH. On the other hand, the peak potential of >C=C< group was shifted to the more negative values with increasing pH. According to the obtained voltammetric data, the probable reaction mechanism for the reduction of TIM was proposed. Moreover, the adsorption of TIM on the mercury electrode surface by means of square-wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry measurements is studied at different pH values. The peak current variations with the deposition time and TIM concentration were observed.     

Thermodynamics of adsorption of dithiocarbamates at the hanging mercury drop

Two dimethyldithiocarbamate (DMDTC) pesticides, thiram and ziram, are adsorbed onto a Hg drop via an entropically driven process. The adsorption isotherms are described by the Frumkin equation. For both molecules, the adsorption is characterized by a nonlinear pseudosigmoid temperature dependence of the Gibbs free energy. For the temperature range of 273-313 K, DeltaGADS varies between -43.4 and -56.71 kJ/mol for thiram and -42.60 and -55.67 kJ/mol for ziram. This variation of DeltaGADS reveals that the adsorption strength is increased at higher temperatures. During the adsorption of either molecule, strong lateral interactions are developed between neighboring adsorbates, which are severely weakened as the temperature increases. A unified reaction scheme is suggested for both ziram and thiram that predicts the formation and adsorption of a surface complex, (DMDTC)2Hg. In the case of thiram, two DMDTC molecules are formed by the cleavage of the disulfide S-S bond near the Hg electrode. The thermodynamic and structural parameters reveal that there are two limiting thermodynamic regimes for the adsorbed (DMDTC)2Hg species that originate from two limiting adsorption conformations of the adsorbates on the Hg surface. A transition occurs between these two conformations at temperatures in the region of 285-295 K. This transition is accompanied by large entropic and enthalpic changes.     

Determination of trace arsenic on hanging copper amalgam drop electrode

Hanging copper amalgam drop electrode has been applied for trace determination of arsenic by cathodic stripping analysis. Detection limit for As(III) as low as 0.33 nM (0.02 μg/L) at deposition time (240 s) could be obtained. For seven successive determinations of As(III) at concentration of 5 nM relative standard deviation was 2.5% (n = 7). Interferences from selected metals and surfactant substances were examined. Absence of copper ions in sample solution causes easier optimization and makes method less vulnerable on contamination. The developed method was validated by analysis of certified reference materials (CRMs) and applied to arsenic determinations in natural water samples.     

Oxidation of some aromatic amines on the passivated hanging mercury drop electrode

It has been shown that a hanging mercury drop electrode of the Kemula type is a very convenient tool for studying the redox processes of organic substances in the positive potential range. Conditions influencing the oxidation process are discussed. The method described may prove to be an analytical tool for the determination of some aromatic amines.     

Adsorptive stripping voltammetry of chlordiazepoxide at the hanging mercury drop electrode

Controlled adsorptive accumulation at the hanging mercury drop electrode enables 0.8–11 × 10^?5 M chlordiazepoxide to be quantified by differential-pulse stripping voltammetry with accumulation times of 1–3 min. With 3-min accumulation, the peak current is enhanced 12-fold for 1.0 × 10^?7 M chlordiazepoxide compared to the current from differential pulse polarography. The detection limit is 0.9 × 10^?9 M for 4-min accumulation. The procedure is applied to spiked human serum after preseparation of the drug on a Sep-Pak C₁₈ cartridge.     

Determination of picloram in natural waters employing sequential injection square wave voltammetry using the hanging mercury drop electrode

This paper describes the development of a sequential injection analysis method to automate the determination of picloram by square wave voltammetry exploiting the concept of monosegmented flow analysis to perform in-line sample conditioning and standard addition. To perform these tasks, an 800 μL monosegment is formed, composed by 400 μL of sample and 400 μL of conditioning/standard solution, in medium of 0.10 mol L⁻¹ H₂SO₄. Homogenization of the monosegment is achieved by three flow reversals. After homogenization the mixture zone is injected toward the flow cell, which is adapted to the capillary of a hanging drop mercury electrode, at a flow rate of 50 μL s⁻¹. After a suitable delay time, the potential is scanned from −0.5 to −1.0 V versus Ag/AgCl at frequency of 300 Hz and pulse height of 25 mV. The linear dynamic range is observed for picloram concentrations between 0.10 and 2.50 mg L⁻¹ fitting to the linear equation I_p = (−2.19 ± 0.03)C_picloram + (0.096 ± 0.039), with R² = 0.9996, for which the slope is given in μA L mg⁻¹. The detection and quantification limits are 0.036 and 0.12 mg L⁻¹, respectively. The sampling frequency is 37 h⁻¹ when the standard addition protocol is followed, but can be increased to 41 h⁻¹ if the protocol to obtain in-line external calibration curve is used for quantification. The method was applied for determination of picloram in spiked water samples and the accuracy was evaluated by comparison with high performance liquid chromatography using molecular absorption at 220 nm for detection. No evidences of statistically significant differences between the two methods were observed.     

Anodic stripping voltammetry of germanium at the hanging mercury drop electrode

The Ge(IV)—Ge(0) system was investigated by cyclic and stripping voltammetry at HMDE in acidic pyrogallol medium and in phosphate, borate and carbonate buffers. It was found that germanium electrodeposited from dilute Ge(IV) solutions dissolved anodically forming two peaks corresponding to the oxidation of the unstable homogeneous and stable heterogeneous amalgams. Both peaks can be exploited analytically for the determination of traces of germanium but due to the complex nature of the germanium amalgam the sensitivity and reproducibility of the determinations are lower compared to the results obtained for metals well-soluble in mercury.     

Electroreduction of diphenyldiazomethane in acetonitrile at a hanging mercury drop electrode

Cyclic voltammetric studies of the reduction of diphenyldiazomethane (Ph₂CN₂) in CH₃CN-Me₄NPF₆ at a hanging mercury drop electrode have established that the halflife of Ph₂CN₂^? is less than l ms at either 8°C or ?37°C.     

Differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry of the copper complexes of glycyl-L-histidyl-glycine at a hanging mercury drop electrode

The behaviour of the copper complexes of glycyl-L-histidyl-glycine (GHG) was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry after their adsorptive accumulation on the surface of a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). The nature of the observed cathodic and anodic peaks was established and optimum conditions were found for the differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetric detemination of GHG at the 1 x 10(-8)M concentration level using adsorptive accumulation at -0.20 V vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode and the cathodic stripping peak around -0.4 V (pH 8.3). This peak corresponds to the reduction of the Cu(I)-GHG complex formed at the HMDE surface as an intermediate in the reduction of Cu(II)-GHG to Cu(O)amalgam.     

Stripping polarography and the reduction of copper(II) in sea water at the hanging mercury drop electrode

An approximate but general theoretical treatment for reversible and irreversible stripping polarographic systems is presented. The treatment is based on the development of an average current (i), which at plating times exceeding 15 s. is analogous to the instantaneous current in d.c. polarography. Plots of i vs. (E – E°) are generated for reversible and irreversible waves and are discussed for the reduction of copper(II) in sea water as an example. From stripping polarography and anodic stripping voltammetry, this work indicates that the overall reduction of copper(II) at the natural pH is kinetically hindered and thus is “irreversible”. The reversibility and the determination of copper in sea water by a.s.v. can be improved by acidification and/or by the addition of ethylenediamine.     

Electrochemistry of diphenylditelluride at the hanging mercury drop electrode in a protic medium

The electrochemical behavior of diphenylditelluride, Phi2Te2, at a hanging mercury drop electrode has been studied in an aqueous-ethanol solution at pH 7 by means of cyclic and ac voltammetry. The appearance of two cathodic peaks has been attributed to the reversible reduction of the first and all the successive monolayers of a film of PhiTe-Hg, which is formed by adsorption of Phi2Te2 at the mercury/solution interface. The different electrochemical properties of such monolayers have been explained.     

Cathodic stripping voltammetry of 2-thioorotic acid at the hanging mercury drop electrode

Controlled adsorptive accumulation of 2-thioorotic acid (6-carboxy-2-thiouracil) on the hanging mercury drop electrode provides the basis for the direct stripping measurement of that compound in the nanomolar concentration level. Differential pulse voltammetry, following 3 min preconcentration, yields a detection limit of 5.0×10^-10 M 2-thioorotic acid. The cathodic stripping response is evaluated with respect to experimental parameters such as preconcentration time and potential, bulk concentration and others. Best results are obtained using a 0.001 M NaOH electrolyte.Two different methods of cathodic stripping voltammetry can be proposed for the determination of 2-thioorotic acid and the reproducibility of these methods is studied.