Evaluations of solid electrodes for use in voltammetric monitoring of heavy metals in samples from metallurgical nickel industry

Evaluation of different solid electrode systems for detection of zinc, lead, cobalt, and nickel in process water from metallurgical nickel industry with use of differential pulse stripping voltammetry has been performed. Zinc was detected by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) on a dental amalgam electrode as intermetallic Ni–Zn compound after dilution in ammonium buffer solution. The intermetallic compound was observed at –375 mV, and a linear response was found in the range 0.2–1.2 mg L^–1 (r²=0.98) for 60 s deposition time. Simultaneous detection of nickel and cobalt in the low g L^–1 range was successfully performed by use of adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (AdCSV) of dimethylglyoxime complexes on a silver–bismuth alloy electrode, and a good correlation was found with corresponding AAS results (r²=0.999 for nickel and 0.965 for cobalt). Analyses of lead in the g L^–1 range in nickel-plating solution were performed with good sensitivity and stability by DPASV, using a working electrode of silver together with a glassy carbon counter electrode in samples diluted 1:3 with distilled water and acidified with H₂SO₄ to pH 2. A new commercial automatic at-line system was tested, and the results were found to be in agreement with an older mercury drop system. The stability of the solid electrode systems was found to be from one to several days without any maintenance needed.     

Analytical possibilities of microelectrode use for stripping voltammetry

The analytical utility of microelectrodes for stripping voltammetry is discussed from several points of view. The application of microelectrodes for microanalysis is demonstrated using a novel capillary flow injection system. Heavy metals at g l^–1 concentrations have been determined in l-samples. The influence of electrode size and convection during the deposition period of anodic stripping voltammetry on the reproducibility of trace metal determination was studied for various types of electrodes. In the case of mercury film microelectrodes, the precision can be improved if the accumulation of the analyte is performed under quiescent conditions. Practical examples of stripping voltammetry with microelectrodes such as copper determination in whisky and trace metal measurements in drinking water are given.     

Studies on the voltammetric behaviour of a 2-mercaptoimidazole containing carbon paste electrode: determination of traces of silver

The voltammetric behaviour of a 2-mercaptoimidazole (2-MI) containing carbon paste electrode was studied. When mixed to carbon paste as an electrode modifier, 2-MI can be reduced at negative potentials (–1 V vs. SCE), but it does not give a response in the potential range where Ag(0) is oxidized to Ag(I). Silver could be accumulated from 0.1 mol l^–1 acetate buffer onto a 2-MI modified carbon paste electrode without a potential applied; after medium exchange, it was reduced at –1 V vs. SCE in 0.1 mol l^–1 acetate buffer solution and determined by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. With suitable preconcentration times, the detection limit was 0.1 g l^–1; a linear relation between current and concentration was found to exist within a range of 0.5 to 1000 g l^–1. In the presence of EDTA, common metal ions have no or only little effect on the voltammetric determination of silver.     

Determination of medecamycin by adsorptive stripping voltammetry with an activated electrode

The adsorptive and electrochemical behaviors of medecamycin were investigated on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) pretreated by anodic oxidation at +1.8 V for 5 min in 0.025 mol l^–1 NH₃-NH₄Cl (pH 8.6) solution. An adsorptive stripping voltammetric method for the determination of medecamycin at the pretreated glassy carbon electrode has been developed. Medecamycin was accumulated in NH₃-NH₄Cl buffer (pH 9.0) at a potential of –0.7 V (vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE)) for a certain time, and then determined by second-order differential anodic stripping voltammetry. The second-order differential anodic stripping peak current at +0.72 V was proportional to the concentration of medecamycin in the range 2.0 g ml^–1 to 50.0 g ml^–1. The detection limit (three times the signal-to-noise) was 1.0 g ml^–1 and the relative standard deviation of the results was 3.28% for eight successive determinations of 10.0 g ml^–1 medecamycin. This method has been applied to the direct determination of medecamycin in commercial tablets and spiked urine samples with satisfactory results.     

Flow injection chemiluminescence determination of l-cysteine in amino acid mixture and human urine with the BrO3 −–quinine system

In this paper, a novel flow injection chemiluminescence (CL) determination of l-cysteine is proposed. The method is based on the CL reaction of l-cysteine and KBrO₃ in acidic medium. The CL intensity was greatly enhanced in the presence of quinine. The CL intensity was linear with l-cysteine concentration in the range of 0.2–80 g L^–1, and the detection limit was 0.1 g L^–1 (3). A complete analysis, including sampling and injecting, could be performed in 1 min, giving a throughput of about 60 h^–1. The relative standard deviation was 1.6% for 0.8 g L^–1 l-cysteine (n=11). The proposed method was satisfactorily applied to the determination of cysteine in an amino acid mixture and human urine. The mechanism of the CL reaction is also discussed.     

Rapid Determination of Mercury in Water by Stripping Voltammetry at a Gold-Modified Carbon Electrode

A procedure was developed for determining mercury in natural water by stripping voltammetry on a gold-modified carbon electrode. The concentration dependence of the anodic stripping current of mercury is linear in the range 0.02–5 g/L Hg(II). The interference of Fe(III), Cu(II), Cl^–, Br^–, I^–, and F^– ions with the determination of mercury was studied. Ozonation was used for rapid sample preparation. The detection limit for mercury was 0.02 g/L at an electrolysis time of 5 min.     

Electrochemical Sensors for the Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Antimony(III)

The conditions of the modification of a glassy-carbon electrode with various polyphenols were studied by multicyclic voltammetry over a wide range of pH. The state of the electrode surface was additionally monitored by measuring cyclic voltammograms of ferrocyanide ions in the presence of a phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0). It was found that the electrooxidation of all the studied polyphenols at the electrode surface resulted in the formation of a water-insoluble film which is capable of accumulating antimony(III) from aqueous solutions. The surface concentration of chemically active cites was of the order n × 10^–9 M/cm². The electrochemical sensors thus prepared were found to be suitable for the selective determination of antimony(III) by adsorption stripping voltammetry. The maximum signals of antimony(III) were obtained at electrodes modified with pyrocatechol and pyrogallol upon metal deposition from acetate buffer solutions (pH 4.5). The detected peak areas S (A · s) were directly proportional to the deposition time t _d (min) and the concentration of antimony(III). The analytical range was 10–250 g/L at t _d = 5.0 min, and the detection limit was 6 g/L. It was found that a sensor based on a pyrogallol film can selectively determine antimony(III) in the presence of Sb(V), Cu(II), and Pb(II), and can be used for the analysis of natural water.     

Determination of mercury in biological fluids by potentiometric stripping analysis

A method is described for the determination of mercury by potentiometric stripping analysis. The analyte, Hg²⁺, is employed for oxidizing a fixed amount of cadmium, previously reduced and amalgamated at a thin mercury film preplated on a glassy carbon electrode. The cadmium stripping signal correlates well with the amount of Hg²⁺ added. Correlation coefficients of 0.9971 and 0.9960 were obtained for the two working ranges: (25 ng–2.5 g) and (5.0–50) g Hg²⁺, respectively, in spiked water samples. The method was investigated with respect to precision and accuracy by spiking a natural water sample with 25 g Hg²⁺.Nine replicate determinations gave a mean value of 24.8 g with a standard deviation ±0.31 g. The 95% confidence limit of the mean suggested the absence of systematic errors. Using the highest possible sensitivity, detection limits of 2.0 ng (167 ng/l) and 0.5 ng (4.2 ng/100 ml of whole blood) were obtained in water and blood samples, respectively. The applicability of the method was successfully extended to include the more complex matrices after recording a zero blank from authentic samples spiked with Cd²⁺ (25 g).The described PSA procedure is a simple and rapid method compared with the cold-vapor technique, with a 5.2% and 4.9% RSD, respectively.     

Electrochemical characterization of boron-doped polycrystalline diamond thin-film electrodes

The electrochemical characterization of boron-doped polycrystalline diamond thin-film (BDF) electrodes was studied using the anodic scan after concentrating lead in 0.1 mol/L KCl – 41 mol/L Hg(NO₃)₂ and 0.1 mol/L KNO₃ – 0.01 mol/L HNO₃ – 41 mol/L Hg(NO₃)₂; accumulation voltage was –0.90 V. The results obtained were compared with those given by glassy carbon (GC) electrodes and proved that the BDF electrodes offered high sensitivity, good precision and extreme stability over a 2-month period. These electrodes provided good resolving power for the determination of lead and cadmium and gave satisfactory results in the analysis of a pure water sample.     

Determination of dinoseb by adsorptive stripping voltammetry using a mercury film electrode

An adsorptive stripping voltammetric method for the determination of the pesticide dinoseb (2-sec.-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol) at the mercury film electrode is described. The deposition of the mercury film on a glassy carbon disk electrode was optimized. The temperature, at which the mercury film was deposited, was demonstrated to have a strong influence on the stripping peaks, the first one being much more intense than the second. A systematic study of the variables affecting the stripping response was carried out by differential pulse voltammetry. The results obtained have been compared with those at the HMDE; a significant improvement in the sensitivity of the method developed with the MFE was observed. Using a 300 s accumulation time, the limits of determination and detection were 3.6 × 10^–10 and 1.1 × 10^–10 mol L^–1, respectively. The effect of the presence of several herbicides on the dinoseb response was also tested. The method has been applied to the determination of the pesticide in spiked apple juice at two concentration levels: 12.0 and 1.2 g L^–1 of juice.     

Stripping voltammetric determination of trace amounts of mercury using a carbon paste electrode modified with 2-mercapto-4(3H)-quinazolinone

A carbon paste electrode modified with 2-mercapto-4(3H)-quinazolinone was used for the voltammetric determination of mercury(II). Mercury was preconcentrated onto the surface of the modified electrode only by the complexing effect of the modifier without application of potential (i.e. in open-circuit conditions). After exchange of the medium, the accumulated amount of mercury(II) was determined by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. The response depended on the concentration of mercury in the bulk solution, preconcentration time, and other parameters. The detection limit was 0.1 g 1^–1 Hg(II) for a preconcentration time of 15 min. Preconcentration for suitable times yielded a linear calibration graph from 0.5 to 6000 g 1^–1 Hg(II). For multiple determinations (5 runs), the relative standard deviation was 5% for a concentration of 100 g 1^–1 Hg(II). The proposed procedure was used to determine trace mercury in plant and sewage sludge samples with good results.On leave from Hainan University, Hainan Peoples Republic of China     

Voltammetry of lead cations on a new type of silver composite electrode in the presence of other cations

A new type of silver composite electrode was examined, prepared from silver, graphite powder, and methacrylate resin. The effects of the presence of various cations (cadmium, copper, bismuth, thallium), anions (chlorides), surface-active substances (Triton X-100), and oxygen on the anodic-stripping voltammetric determination of lead were studied. It was found that the effect of underpotential deposition at the composite electrode differs from that produced at a metallic silver electrode, mainly at low concentrations of the deposited metal. The use of this type of silver composite electrode in differential pulse anodic-stripping voltammetry enables direct determination of lead in natural water samples without elimination of surface-active substances (LOD about 3 g L^–1).     

On-line glucose monitoring by using microdialysis sampling and amperometric detection based on ‘wired’ glucose oxidase in carbon paste

In-vitro on-line glucose monitoring is described, based on microdialysis sampling and amperometric detection operated in a flow-injection system. Samples were injected into a two-electrode microcell containing an Ag/AgCl quasi-reference electrode and a glucose enzyme electrode as the working electrode, operated at + 0.15 Vvs. Ag/AgCl. The enzyme electrode is constructed by mixing the wired glucose oxidase into carbon paste. {Poly[1-vinylimidazole osmium(4,4-dimethylbipyridine)₂Cl)]}^+/2+ was used to wire the enzyme. The non-coated electrodes, cross-linked with poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether, responded linearly to glucose concentrations up to 60 mM, and were characterized by a sensitivity of 0.23 A mM^–1 cm^–2, when operated in flow injection mode and of 5.4 AmM ^–1 cm^–2 in steady-state conditions. This sensitivity of the resulting enzyme electrode was 50% lower than that of similarly prepared but non-cross-linked electrodes. However, the cross-linked electrodes showed superior operational and storage stabilities, which were further improved by coating the electrodes with a negatively charged Eastman AQ film. An in-house designed microdialysis probe, equipped with a polysulphone cylindrical dialysis membrane, yielded a relative recovery of 50–60% at a perfusion rate of 2.5 l/min^–1 in a well stirred glucose solution. The on-line set up effectively rejected common interferences such as ascorbic acid and 4-acetaminophen when present at their physiological concentrations.     

Coulometric argentometry of microgram amounts of sulphide

Summary A coulometric argentometric method has been developed for determining microgram and submicrogram amounts of sulphide, based on the formation of silver sulphide at a silver electrode by constant applied voltage electrolysis. 0.1 N sodium hydroxide has been used as a supporting electrolyte. The electrolytic system consisted of a special cell and of a pair of electrodes (large area saturated calomel electrode and the silver working electrode). The optimum working potential of the silver electrode was found to be –360 mV vs. S.C.E. This method permits determinations of 0.01–20 g of sulphide in sample volumes up to 10 ml, the total volume in the electrolytic cell being 40 ml. In the range of 0.05–20 g of sulphide the accuracy was better than – 5% and the reproducibility was better than 1%; in case of 0.01 g of sulphide the accuracy was found to be about – 10% and the repoducibility amounted to 2.5%.

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Zusammenfassung Eine coulometrisch-argentometrische Methode zur Bestimmung von Mikro- und Submikromengen Sulfid auf Grund der Bildung von Silbersulfid an einer Silberelektrode bei konstanter angelegter Spannung wurde ausgearbeitet. Als Grundelektrolyt wird 0,1 N Natronlauge benutzt. Die Bestimmung wird in einem speziellen Elektrolysiergefäß mit einer groß-flächigen Kalomel- und einer Silberelektrode ausgeführt. Das optimale Potential der Silberelektrode beträgt –360 mV gegen ges. Kalomelelektrode. Die Methode ermöglicht die Bestimmung von 0,01–20 g Sulfid in einer Probe von maximal 10 ml. Zwischen 0,05 und 20 g Sulfid ist der Fehler stets kleiner als – 5%; die Reproduzierbarkeit ist besser als 1%. Bei 0,01 g Sulfid wurde ein Fehler von – 10% und eine Reproduzierbarkeit von 2,5% gefunden.

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Parts I and II: this journal 217, 252, 259 (1966).     

Capacitive chemical sensor for fenvalerate assay based on electropolymerized molecularly imprinted polymer as the sensitive layer

A capacitive chemical sensor for fenvalerate is reported. By using ac impedance measurements the sensor has been based on the decrease in capacitance caused by the analyte used as the template in the formulation of an electropolymerized molecularly imprinted polymer as receptor layer. Improvement of the insulating properties of the sensor was investigated in detail. The capacitive sensor was prepared by a deposition of a self-assembled monolayer of 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (2-MBI) before electropolymerization of 2-MBI and subsequent treatment with n-dodecanethiol to eliminate pinholes and defects in the polymerized 2-MBI film. From the calibration curve concentrations of fenvalerate up to 9 g mL^–1 could be detected with a linear determination range up to 5 g mL^–1 and a detection limit of 0.36 g mL^–1. No significant interference was observed from common pyrethroid insecticides.     

Application of l-cysteine-capped nano-ZnS as a fluorescence probe for the determination of proteins

Nanometer-sized l-cysteine-capped ZnS particles have been synthesized and used as a fluorescence probe to investigate the effect of proteins on fluorescent intensity. With =190 nm, maximum and constant synchronous fluorescence enhancement was produced at 267 nm and pH 5.12 in the presence of proteins. A highly sensitive synchronous fluorescence method for the rapid determination of proteins has been developed. Under optimum conditions, calibration graphs are linear over the range 0.03–8.0 g mL^–1 for bovine serum albumin (BSA), 0.01–6.0 g mL^–1 for human serum albumin (HSA), 0.05–8.0 g mL^–1 for -globulin (-G), and 0.04–4.0 g mL^–1 for ovalbumin, respectively. The relative standard deviations of seven replicate measurements were 1.75% for 1.0 g mL^–1 BSA, 1.90% for 1.0 g mL^–1 HSA, 1.65% for 1.0 g mL^–1 -G, and 2.32% for 1.0 g mL^–1 ovalbumin.     

Titrimetric determination of thiourea and silver with a picrate ion selective electrode

Summary A method has been developed for the semiautomatic potentiometric titration of thiourea with silver nitrate and of silver with thiourea, in the presence of picrate ions, using a picrate ion selective electrode. Thiourea in the range 15–1500g and silver in the range 200–1800g were determined with relative errors and relative standard deviation of about 1%.

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Zusammenfassung Eine halbautomatische potentiometrische Titrationsmethode für Thioharnstoff mit Silbernitrat bzw. umgekehrt in Gegenwart von Pikrationen mit Hilfe einer selektiven Pikratelektrode wurde entwickelt. 15–1500g Thioharnstoff bzw. 200–1800g Silber wurden mit einem relativen Fehler und einer relativen Standardabweichung von etwa ±1% bestimmt.

     

Preconcentration and determination of cadmium in water

Cadmium in water was preconcentrated by adsorption on activated carbon after complexation with potassium ethyl xanthate. The recovery was >90% in the concentration range 10 g l^–1 to 500 g l^–1 with an enrichment factor of 1000. The method was employed for the analysis of cadmium in spiked water samples, by NAA and AAS. The standard deviation and relative mean error was 0.062 and 0.015, respectively.     

Determination of tetraethyllead and tetramethyllead using high performance liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection

Summary A new method for the separation of tetramethyllead (TML) and tetraethyllead (TEL) was developed using high-performance liquid chromatography. The electrochemical detection was examined with different electrodes. Amperometric and pulse-amperometric techniques were investigated and the optimal working potential for each electrode was determined. Linearity for the glassy carbon electrode was observed between 350 ng and 30 g; the detection limit is 310 ng (TML) resp. 340 ng (TEL). In case of the mercury gold electrode the linearity range was 300 g–3 g and the detection limit 1.5 m (TML) resp. 1.7 g (TEL).     

Determination of traces of heavy metals in positively charged inorganic colloids in fresh waters

Summary Determination of Traces of Heavy Metals in Positively Charged Inorganic Colloids in Fresh Waters After removal of suspended particulate matter by centrifugation followed by filtration through 0.4-m membrane filters, humic substances and other negatively charged species are sorbed on a small column of macroreticular weak-base anion exchanger DEAE-Sephadex A-25 at fast flow rates. Positively charged inorganic colloids pass through the column and are collected on a 0.015-m membrane filter, which is then ultrasonically treated with 1M nitric acid for the determination of copper, lead and cadmium by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry with a static mercury drop electrode. Up to O.2g 1^–1 of the heavy metals are found in positively charged inorganic colloids in river, pond and tap waters.