Amalgam Electrodes for Electroanalysis

Liquid mercury is a unique material for the indicator electrode in voltammetry. One reason for this is the high overvoltage for hydrogen formation, thus extending the actual potential window. Diluted amalgams are important reaction products in voltammetric (polarographic) processes, however liquid amalgams are rarely used directly as electrode material for analytical purposes. Because of the fact that voltammetry is very suitable for field and remote monitoring, issues concerning the use of mercury electrodes in environmental analyses have led to considerable research effort aimed at finding alternative tools with acceptable performance. Solid electrodes are such alternatives. Different types of electrodes are reviewed. In particular, solid amalgam electrodes are very promising, with acceptable low toxicity to be used for field measurements. Solid amalgam electrodes are easy and cheap to construct and are stable over a reasonable time up to several weeks. Assessment of the toxicity risk and the long time stability for remote and unattended monitoring is discussed. The differences between solid dental amalgam electrodes, made by using techniques known from dental clinical practice, and mercury film or mercury layer electrodes on solid substrates are reviewed. In particular the dental technique for constructing solid amalgam electrodes gives advantage because it's fast and inexpensive. Also the technique for making dental amalgam has been explored and optimized over years by dentists, giving advantage when the same technique is used for constructing electrodes. Dental amalgam electrodes has been found to act similar to a silver electrodes, but with high overvoltage towards hydrogen. This make it possible to use the dental amalgam electrode for detection of zinc, cobalt and nickel in additions to other metals like lead, copper, thallium, cadmium, bismuth, iron etc. Also the use for reducible organic compounds is expected to be promising.     

Comparison of Mercury Vapor Pressure of Silver Amalgam-Based Electrode Materials Using AAS

Nowadays, several amalgam-based electrodes are commonly used in electrochemistry as a less toxic alternative to mercury electrodes. Therefore, a comparison of the mercury vapor pressure of several silver amalgam-based electrode materials with the mercury vapor pressure of liquid mercury and of dental amalgam using AAS was done in this study. Method was optimized to get the highest mercury signal. Results showed that the mercury vapor pressure of amalgam-based electrode materials not containing liquid mercury is far lower than the mercury vapor pressure of liquid mercury (about two orders of signal magnitude) and comparable with mercury vapor pressure of dental amalgam.     

An indium tin oxide electrode modified with gold nanorods for use in potential-controlled surface plasmon resonance studies

The modification of electrodes with gold nanoparticles results in an increased electrode surface area, enhanced mass transport, and improved catalytic properties. We have extended this approach to indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes to obtain optically transparent gold nanorod-modified electrodes which display enhanced electrochemical capabilities and have the additional advantage of showing a tunable surface plasmon resonance. The procedures for attaining high surface coverage (15 gold nanorods per square µm) of such electrodes were optimized, and the potential-dependent surface plasmon resonance was studied under controlled electrical potential. In an exemplary sensor application, we demonstrate the detection of mercury via potential-dependent formation of an Au-Hg amalgam.

General characteristics of the copper-based mercury film electrode

The optimum conditions for the preparation, storage, conditioning and renewal of copper-based mercury film electrodes (CBMFEs) are given. The voltammetric results obtained at these electrodes are compared with the predictions of the theory of cyclic and stripping voltammetry at the mercury film electrode, as well as with the results obtained at the silver-based and the platinum-based mercury film electrodes. The advantage of a CBMFE is prolonged life-time, whereas the disadvantages ar the decreased range of usable positive potentials and the possibility of interfering reactions of the electrodeposited metals with the copper substrate or copper dissolved in the mercury phase. The presence of copper has no essential influence on the behaviour of lead and thallium; it affects the behaviour of zinc markedly and that of cadmium and indium slightly. The conditions allowing the minimization of the harmful action of copper on the behaviour of cadmium and indium have been found.     

Renewable silver amalgam film electrodes in electrochemical stripping analysis—a review

The success of a voltammetric sensing procedure depends mainly on the proper choice of the working electrode. This is because its ability to accumulate the analyte determines the sensitivity of the method. The main criterion of the selection of the proper working electrode is the available potential window. A variety of conductive materials have been used for the preparation of working electrodes. Of these, two kinds of mercury electrodes—hanging mercury drop and film—were used because of their excellent voltammetric performance and, in particular, their high overpotential of hydrogen reduction. The significant drawbacks of mercury electrodes, however, are the toxicity of the material and the instability of liquid mercury films. To overcome these disadvantages, less toxic mercury-containing materials have been used, such as amalgams and amalgam film electrodes. This group includes renewable silver amalgam film electrodes used for electrochemical stripping sensing purposes. These electrodes have successfully been applied for anodic, adsorptive, cathodic, catalytic voltammetric, and potentiometric stripping determination of trace amounts of inorganic cations and organic compounds in various natural matrices. In this review, the electrode design, characteristics, and application of two kinds of renewable silver amalgam film electrodes are discussed in detail.     

Electrocatalytic detection of polysaccharides at picomolar concentrations

Electroinactive polysaccharides (PS) modified by osmium(VI) complexes with nitrogenous ligands produce redox couples at carbon and mercury electrodes. We show that PS adducts with Os(VI) 2,2'-bipyridine produce at ~-1.2 V (against Ag/AgCl/3 M KCl electrode) an additional peak at mercury and solid amalgam electrodes. This peak is due to the catalytic hydrogen evolution, allowing detection of PS (such as dextran and mannan) at picomolar concentrations.     

Brdicka-type processes of cysteine and cysteine-containing peptides on silver amalgam electrodes

Silver solid amalgam electrode (AgSAE) was used for differential pulse voltammetric (DPV) measurements of cysteine and cysteine-containing peptides, glutathione, gamma-Glu-Cys-Gly and phytochelatin (gamma-Glu-Cys)(3)-Gly (PC3), in the presence of Co(II) ions. It had been established earlier that cysteine-containing peptides and proteins catalyze hydrogen evolution at mercury electrodes in presence of cobalt salts; these processes are known as the Brdicka reaction. DPV signals measured with the AgSAE, the surfaces of which had been modified by mercury meniscus or mercury film, were qualitatively the same as those obtained with the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). With these electrodes the number and the intensity of Brdicka signals of cysteine, glutathione and PC3 differed, making a distinction among them possible. On the other hand, with the polished silver solid amalgam electrode (the surface of which was completely free of liquid mercury) all three compounds produced only one but strikingly intense peak in the region of Brdicka reaction. Using this signal, cysteine, glutathione as well as PC3 could be determined at 10(-8)M level, representing sensitivity up to 2 orders of magnitude better than attained with the mercury-modified AgSAEs or HMDE.     

Electrochemistry of the system Cu(II)Cu(I)Cu(0) in acidified thiocyanate solutions

The system Cu(II)Cu(I)Cu(0) in acidified thiocyanate medium was investigated at carbon, mercury, and copper amalgam electrodes using cyclic voltammetry, normal, differential and reverse pulse voltammetry, double potential step chronocoulometry, and exhaustive coulometry. Reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) on carbon electrodes proceeds quasireversibly. At moderate concentrations of Cu(II) and SCN^? the reduction of Cu(II) leads to three-dimensional precipitation of CuSCN which can be deposited at the electrode surface. At high concentration of SCN^? complexation dominates over precipitation and only soluble species are formed. At mercury and copper amalgam electrodes the situation is more complicated. The three- dimensional precipitation is preceded by strong thiocyanate-induced adsorption of Cu(I) which results in formation of a mono layer at potential well-separated from those where diffusing product is formed.     

Silver based mercury film electrode: Part II. The influence of aging of electrode on the electrode processes of various metal ions

The cyclic voltammetric behaviour of 8 metal ions at solid silver amalgam electrodes prepared by aging of a thin silver based mercury film electrode (SBMFE) and by deposition of silver and mercury on platinum were investigated. It was established that such electrodes behave in relation to some metals (Pb, Bi, Sn) similarly as silver electrodes i.e. the cyclic curves obtained with these electrodes at concentration 10^?3M range show a prepeak-postpeak system corresponding to deposition and dissolution of the monolayer of deposit. On the other hand under the same conditions no prepeaks were observed for cadmium, zinc and thallium. In all cases investigated the heights of anodic stripping peaks were lower on curves obtained with aged SBMFE than on those obtained with fresh SBMFE having a mercury layer 1 μm thick.     

New approaches in the development of DNA sensors: hybridization and electrochemical detection of DNA and RNA at two different surfaces

Up to now, the development of the electrochemical DNA hybridization sensors relied on solid electrodes, on which both the hybridization and detection steps have been performed. Here we propose a new method in which the DNA hybridization is performed at commercially available magnetic beads and electrochemical detection on detection electrodes (DE). Due to minimum nonspecific DNA adsorption at the magnetic beads, very high specificity of the DNA hybridization is achieved. Optimum DE can be chosen only with respect to the given electrode process. It is shown that high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of relatively long target DNAs can be obtained (a) by using cathodic stripping voltammetry at mercury or solid mercury amalgam DEs for the determination of purine bases, released from DNA by acid treatment, and (b) by enzyme-linked immunoassay of target DNA modified by osmium tetroxide,2,2'-bipyridine (Os,bipy) at carbon DEs. Direct determination of Os,bipy at mercury and carbon electrodes is also possible.     

Voltammetric determination of traces of silver in some metals after dissolution of the sample in mercury

The general possibility of analysing metals and alloys by dissolution of the sample in mercury and recording the anodic voltammogram is examined for the determination of silver in some metals. In order to obtain good separation of the silver peak from the anodic limit, acetonitrile is used in the supporting electrolyte. If the main component of the sample is more noble than mercury, analysis is simple and takes ? 20 min. Significant amounts of base metals in samples must be removed from the amalgam prior to the anodic stripping; optimum conditions for the removal are given. The detection limits found for the determination of silver in gold and lead and in indium amalgam are 4 × 10^?3, 4 × 10^?4 and 4 × 10^?6 % respectively. Dissolution of the lead button in mercury seems to be a successful alternative to the cupellation procedure. Silver in mercury does not form intermetallic compounds with gold.     

Dental Amalgam in Voltammetry. Some Preliminary Results

ABSTRACT

Liquid mercury and liquid diluted mercury amalgams have been superior as electrode material for the use of voltammetry for analytical purposes. This is mainly due to the high overvoltage to hydrogen, which enables one to use a wide potential range for the measurements. Due to the toxicity of mercury and liquid diluted mercury compounds, the use of such compounds are increasingly restricted, and cannot be included in voltammetric devices for field and online applications.

The present authors have studied the properties of dental amalgam and related solid amalgams as electrode material in voltammetry. Due to the special properties of dental amalgam compared with mercury itself it is not toxic.

It has been found that dental amalgam and related solid amalgams have a very high overpotential to hydrogen, allowing one to carry out trace analyses at potentials sufficiently negative to allow determination of e.g. zinc, cobalt, nickel and iron at trace levels. This have previously been difficult except when using a mercury or a mercury film electrode.

The present preliminary paper describes such electrodes and some practical applications for trace heavy metal analyses, using differential pulse stripping voltammetry. Such determinations are very important for field and online analyses of pollutants in soil and groundwater, and the electrode can be used repeatedly. Further improvements can obviously be obtained by optimising the composition of the alloy.     

Square Wave Stripping Voltammetry of Unlabeled Single‐ and Double‐Stranded DNAs

We show that, in difference to previously applied electrochemical methods working with stationary electrodes, square wave voltammetry produces well‐developed peaks II_SW (specific for dsDNA) and III_SW yielded by ssDNA at hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) and solid amalgam electrodes (SAEs). Using these peaks various kinds of DNA structural transitions can be studied, including unwinding of dsDNA at negatively charged electrode surfaces. The sensitivity of the DNA analysis is much better than that obtained with guanine oxidation signals at carbon electrodes. Both carbon electrodes and SAEs appear attractive as transducers in label‐free RNA and DNA sensors.     

Silver based mercury film electrode: Part IV. Comparison of theoretical and experimental voltammetric results obtained for cadmium

Using the silver based mercury film electrode (SBMFE) and cyclic and stripping voltammetric techniques the behaviour of cadmium has been compared with the behaviour of lead as well as with the predictions of the theory of de Vries and van Dalen. At the SBMFE with film thickness between 0.1 and 2 μm lead behaves with good agreement with theoretical predictions and only at thicknesses higher than 2 μm some deviations occur due to collecting of the excess mercury at the bottom of the wire electrode. On the other hand even at thin film electrodes the behaviour of cadmium deviates significantly from the predictions of the theory. The height of the anodic peak decreases and its width increases; also the displacement of the potentials of both cathodic and anodic peaks is smaller than the values predicted theoretically. The deviations are caused neither by the formation of intermetallic compounds in the bulk of mercury phase nor by the formation of heterogenous cadmium amalgam; they reflect the interaction between cadmium dissolved in mercury and the solid silver amalgam which is the substrate of the mercury film. Owing to the effect discussed the stripping determination of cadmium at SBMFE is characterized by a lower sensitivity and reproducibility.     

Quantitative bestimmung von kobalt an der rotierenden quecksilberelektrode

A modified mercury electrode was constructed and used as a cathode and, at the same time, as a container for the electrolyte. Its applicability as well as its advantages in comparison with other mercury electrodes have been studied on the determination of cobalt.On this rotating electrode cobalt could be quantitatively determined with a shorter duration of electrolysis. If determined conditions wire fulfilled, satisfactory results could he obtained in spite of a slight tendency for a subsequent oxidation of the cobalt from the amalgam. This justifies the recommendation of the rotating mercury electrode and of the method described for the quantitative determination of cobalt.     

Cathodic stripping voltammetry of cysteine using silver and copper solid amalgam electrodes

Silver and copper solid amalgam electrodes (modified with mercury meniscus and based on amalgamation of fine metallic powder) have been successfully tested for cathodic stripping voltammetry of cysteine. In the case of the silver solid amalgam electrode AgSAE the relative standard deviation (RSD) and the detection limit (3 SD) reached +/-2.3% and 3x10(-9) mol l(-1) cysteine, respectively.     

Voltammetric analysis using a self-renewable non-mercury electrode

Galinstan is a new kind of electrode material and the galinstan electrode is a promising alternative to the commonly used mercury electrodes. The eutectic mixture of gallium, indium and tin is liquid at room temperature (m.p. −19°C) and its voltammetric behaviour is similar to that of mercury. The potential windows of use were determined for different pH values and are similar to those obtained with conventional mercury electrodes. Furthermore, the high hydrogen overpotential, which is characteristic for mercury, can be observed when galinstan is used as electrode material. Galinstan can be employed as a liquid electrode in the voltammetric analysis of different metal ions, such as lead and cadmium, in different supporting electrolytes. Our results indicate that the non-toxic liquid alloy galinstan could therefore become immensely important in electrochemical research as a potential surrogate material for mercury.     

Facile end-labeling of RNA with electroactive Os(VI) complexes

Ribose at the 3′-end of oligonucleotides (oligos) selectively modified by Os(VI)2,2′-bipyridine (bipy) produced two CV redox couples at pyrolytic graphite electrode. Using square wave voltammetry (SWV) 22-mer oligos can be detected down to 250 nM. At mercury electrodes the Os(VI)bipy-oligo adducts produced an electrocatalytic peak at ~?1.2 V allowing their determination down to picomolar concentrations. High specificity of Os(VI)bipy for ribose in nucleic acids and high sensitivity of the determination at mercury and solid amalgam electrodes give promise for new efficient methods of microRNA determination.     

Determination of Ammonium by Stripping Voltammetry

The behavior of ammonium ions at amalgam electrodes was studied by cyclic and stripping voltammetry. It was found that the oxidation peak of an ammonium hydride amalgam can be used as the analytical signal. Conditions were selected for the determination of ammonium ions in aqueous solutions at a mercury film electrode by stripping voltammetry using potassium chloride as the supporting electrolyte. The determination limit for ammonium ions was found to be 2 × 10^–7M (0.004 mg/L). The procedure was tested in river waters of the Ob' basin and in the atmospheric air.     

A new capillary electrophoresis end-column amperometric detection system without the need for capillary/electrode alignment

A self-aligning end-column amperometric detection system for capillary electrophoresis was constructed. In this system, the electrode and capillary were exchanged easily and the capillary/electrode alignment procedure is not required. Gold, gold/mercury amalgam, copper and carbon fiber could be used as the working electrode. The principle is in the use of two disk holders with the capillary and the electrode in the center, so that by inserting the disk holders into a groove in the working electrode port, the capillary and the electrode are automatically aligned and the distance between the capillary and the electrode is assured at 0.24 mm. The relative standard deviation obtained using five different gold/mercury amalgam microdisk electrodes for determination of cysteine was 1.5% for the migration time and 3.3% for the electrophoretic peak current. The simple and convenient system was attractive for the routine analysis by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection. The system was applied to the determination of promethazine hydrochloride in human serum.