Analyzing the response of a contactless conductivity detector in capillary electrophoresis by a resonant method

We report a resonant method to measure the wall capacitance(C_w) and solution resistance(R_S) in a capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector(C~4D).Under the typical operating conditions in capillary electrophoresis(I.D.50μm,O.D. 360μm,electrode length of 4 mm,electrode gap of 1 mm,frequency of 200 kHz),the values of C_w measured in 1 and 20 mmol/L NaCl solutions are 2.8 and 32 fF,which are only 1.1%and 12%of prediction by the equation in references,respectively.The value of R_S is less than the prediction in solutions withκ<0.02 S/m.The response current of C~4D is due to the change in C_w because the total impedance of a C~4D is composed mainly by the impedance from C_w.     

New approach to calibrating conductivity meters in the low conductivity range

There is currently a major issue with the calibration of conductivity meters used for high purity water: the lack of availability of a reference material or reference methods for low conductivity ranges (conductivity below 1 S cm^–1 at 25.0 °C, resistivity >1 M cm at 25.0 °C). This paper describes the current status of conductivity measurements in high purity water. A new and improved approach, currently being investigated, should allow us to make the calibration of conductivity meters used for low conductivity ranges traceable to the SI.Milipore, Milli-Q and Elix are registered trademarks of Millipore Corporation.     

A computer-controlled apparatus for thermal conductivity measurement by the transient hot wire method

The aim of this paper is to review the transient hot wire method for measurement of thermal conductivity, which is based on the measurement of temporal history of the temperature rise caused by linear heat source (hot wire) embedded in a test material. If a current is passed through the wire, the rise in temperature will be dependent, among other factors, on the thermal conductivity of the medium, surrounding the wire. Here the mathematical basis, as well as main modifications of the hot wire method — cross technique, resistance modifications with potential and compensated lead methods; hot wire probe method and parallel wire technique, are described and discussed. A fully automated computer-controlled transient hot wire apparatus is presented and tested, which allows measurement of thermal conductivity of solid, powder and granular materials at high temperatures.     

Ionic conductivity of pure water in charged porous matrix

It is commonly recognized that the ionic conductivity of pure water is very poor because of very low ionic concentrations. However, this work indicates that pure water in charged porous matrixes can be moderately conductive because of the ions in the electric double layer established at the solid/water interfaces. The ionic conductivity of pure water in a charged matrix changes with the electrode potential of the matrix and is influenced by the structural parameters. Both experimental measurements and theoretical calculations reveal that ionic conductivity may reach the order of 10(-3) S cm(-1) in commonly accessible potential region in a porous matrix made of gold nanoparticles. These results would help to understand and optimize the electrode processes in electrochemical devices without deliberately added electrolytes, such as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.     

水氯化物的测定不确定度评定方法

根据GB/T 11896-1989《水质氯化物的测定硝酸银滴定法》国标方法对水中氯化物测定的不确定度进行评定。首先对不确定度主要来源进行识别,如测量重复性、标准NaCl的纯度、称量和定容、液体的转移、标准溶液在滴定和标定时滴定管的体积计量、温度等,然后建立数学模型,分别计算各输入量的不确定度分量和相对不确定度分量,合成各相对不确定度分量的方差和合成标准不确定度计算,得到测量结果的最终表示方式。     

水为洗脱剂的静电离子色谱-增强电导检测法测定常见的无机阴离子（英文）

To enhance the conductivity detection sensitivity of common anions(Na-anions) in electrostatic ion chromatography(EIC) by elution with water,a conductivity enhancement column packed with strong acid cation exchange resin in the H-form was inserted between an octadecyl silane(ODS)-silica separation column modified with zwitterionic surfactant(CHAPS: 3-{(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonio}propanesulfonate) and a conductivity detector.Specifically,the Na-anion pairing is converted to H-anion pairing after the EIC separation and then detected sensitively by the conductivity detector.The effects of conductivity enhancement and suppression in the EIC by the enhanced conductivity detection were characterized for the common strong acid anions such as SO2-4,Cl-,NO-3,I-and ClO-4 and weak acid anions such as F-,NO-2,HCOO-,CH3COO-and HCO-3.For the conductivity enhancement effect in the EIC,it is found that the conductivity of measured for all strong acid anions(Na-anions) was enhanced according to the theoretical conductivity predicted for H-anions and that of the measured for weak acid anions was suppressed depending on their pKa of H-anions.For the calibration linearity in the EIC,the strong acid anions were linear(r2=0.99-1.00) because the degree of dissociation is almost 1.0 over all the concentration range and that of the weak acid anions was non-linear because the degree of dissociation decreased by increasing the concentration of the weak acid anions.In conclusion,the EIC by enhanced conductivity detection was recognized to be useful only for the strong acid anions in terms of conductivity detection and calibration linearity.     

Polymer blend for fuel cells based on SPEKK: Effect of cocontinuous morphology on water sorption and proton conductivity

Proton‐exchange membranes (PEM), suitable for micro and small sized fuel cells, were obtained by blending sulfonated poly(ether ketone ketone) (SPEKK) polymers with different ionic exchange capacity (IEC). This approach was used to limit the amount of swelling caused by water sorption without significantly decreasing the proton conductivity of the membrane. In particular a membrane with a cocontinuous biphasic morphology was obtained by blending two SPEKKs, with respectively, an IEC equal to 1.2 and 2.08 in the weight ratio 60/40, casted from 5% (w/v) solutions in dimethylacetamide. The effect of a cocontinuous morphology on water sorption and proton conductivity in comparison to neat SPEKK was investigated. In the range of temperatures between 40 and 70 °C, which is typical for small and micro fuel cells conditions, it was found that the ratio of proton conductivity to water sorption could be maximized. This has been attributed to the presence of percolative pathways for proton transport provided by the cocontinuous morphology along with the constraint effect of the less sulfonated component on the overall capacity of swelling of the membrane. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 395–404, 2007     

Solutions of alkali soaps and water in fatty acid V. Measurements of water vapour pressure and electrical conductivity

Measurements of water pressure and electrical conductivity have contributed to show that the extended, isotropic liquid L₂-phase region in the system sodium octanoate/ octanoic acid/water may be divided into several subregions, inside which the character of the system is different. In the non-aqueous part of the phase and at low contents of water and more than about three moles of octanoic acid per mole of sodium octanoate the character is that of a solution of acid sodium octanoate in octanoic acid. At high water contents the L₂-phase has the character of a solution of acid sodium octanoate in water. Intermediately there is a large region where the character of the phase is reminiscent of a hydrated acid sodium octanoate in fluid state. In this region the content of octanoic acid is below three moles per mole of sodium octanoate and the maximal water content is about that bound to the polar groups.In the intermediate region the water vapour pressure is regulated mainly by the extent and type of the bonding of the water to the polar groups, and the electrical conductivity by the migration of free hydrated sodium ions in an environment of hydrated polar groups. In the part of the L₂-phase where the character of the phase is that of an aqueous solution the vapour pressure and conductivity are regulated by the concentration of molecularly dispersed acid sodium octanoate and its ions in water.     

A simple test method for measuring water vapor resistance of porous polymeric materials

A simple test method is proposed for measuring water vapor resistance of fabrics. A piece of cotton fabric connected to a container filled with distilled water through a plastic tube was used on a hot plate to generate a saturated water vapor condition on one side of the sample. The temperature of the cotton fabric (approximation of human skin covered with sweat) was measured by a thermocouple. The water vapor resistance of the sample was determined based on the water vapor pressure gradient across the sample and the heat flux. Five types of textile fabric laminated to PU/TPU membranes, plus one type of conventional fabric, were tested by using this simple apparatus as well as the sweating guarded hot plate instrument. The results showed that good agreement was observed between these two test methods. In addition, the surface temperature of the cotton ‘skin’ varied with different fabrics. This is in accordance with the actual intended situation, i.e., the skin temperature of the body is related to the ability of clothing materials to transfer water vapor. Therefore, this simple test apparatus better simulates real-life conditions than the sweating guarded hot plate instrument.     

Frozen water phase method for logD measurement using a 96-well plate

In this study, a frozen water phase method for log D measurement using a 96-well plate was developed. In the case of log D measurement of compounds, the problem of octanol contamination often occurs; in lipophilic compounds, the concentration of the octanol phase is much higher than that of the water phase. When the water phase is separated from the octanol phase, a small amount of octanol phase contamination could strongly influence the concentration of the water phase. To avoid this problem, the frozen water phase method was developed. The water phase was frozen in liquid nitrogen and then the unfrozen octanol phase was removed. To remove the portion of the octanol remaining on the frozen water phase, the surface of the frozen water phase was washed with octanol and water/ethanol (50/50, v/v). The validity of the method was confirmed by results of commercially available drugs at the log D range from 0 to 4. Further, it was found that this method had the ability to evaluate the pH-log D profile of compounds in the range from pH 2 to pH 12. As a result, we developed the convenient and accurate method that is effective in preventing contamination with a wide dynamic range.     

微型气相色谱仪热导检测器放大电路设计

Agilent公司生产的Agilent 3000+系列色谱仪是微型气相色谱仪(micro GC)的典型代表,其热导检测器的信号放大电路和模数转换器(analog-to-digital convertor, ADC)存在功耗大、工作温度过高等不足.文中分析了micro GC电路的功能需求,从选用低噪声的24 bit Δ-Σ ADC ADS1255入手,设计了高共模电压容限、低噪声的全差分放大电路及其他外围电路,并且对全差分放大电路建立了噪声模型,计算了其噪声理论值,优化了系统设计参数.另外,还设计了一个测试平台,对所设计的全差分放大电路和ADC的性能进行了全面的测试评估,结果表明新设计的热导检测器放大电路与ADC的总噪声(以美国材料与试验协会(ASTM)标准值计)仅为1.25 μV,总功耗降低了3.7 W,满足micro GC的功能需求,而且可靠性高、体积小、结构简单,可用于新一代micro GC的研发和生产.     

Novel instrument for high temperature thermogravimetric measurements in high water vapour contents

Summary A novel instrument for high temperature thermogravimetric measurements in atmospheres containing high water vapour contents was developed in a collaboration between Netzsch and Risø National Laboratory. The development of the instrument was initiated to facilitate the investigation of high temperature corrosion of steels in humidified atmospheres. The instrument consists of a standard thermal analyser unit, including a new water vapour furnace, balance and sample carrier. The design of the instrument is discussed and thermogravimetric measurements on a Fe₇₈Cr₂₂ steel are presented.     

Optimizing the degradation of dichlorvos in aqueous solution using nZVI DTPA+H2O2 and its detection using ac conductivity measurement with the help of response surface methodology

Degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater is a common subject of discussion under advanced oxidation process. To detect the degradation of colourless organic pollutants conventional analytical techniques are available but their sophistication makes it difficult to pursue in all form of chemical laboratories. In the present study it was found that during degradation of Dichlorvos using diethylene triamine pent acetic acid (DTPA) stabilized nano zero valent iron (nZVI), COD removal and ac conductivity change has been done simultaneously. In this degradation study the heterogeneous Fenton type oxidation method was employed and an LCR circuit (which contains inductor, capacitor and resistor) was used to measure the ac conductivity. This study aims to find out a correlation between ac conductivity and COD removal using simple response surface methodology (RSM) so that the degradation of colourless pollutants can be estimated easily and also to identify the best processing parameters to optimise Dichlorvos degradation. It was found that COD removal in most of all cases, was more than 60% when the change in final ac conductivity more than 600% with respect to initial value. All of the experimental results were in good accord with the projected outcome.     

Novel flow injection-fluorometric method for the determination of trace silicate and its application to ultrapurified water analysis

A highly sensitive fluorescence quenching method for the determination of silicate based on the formation of an ion associate between molybdosilicate and Rhodamine B (RB) in nitric acid medium was developed. A flow injection system coupled with a fluorescence detector was used for the measurement of fluorescence intensity at 560 and 580 nm as excitation and emission wavelengths, respectively. The calibration graph for Si showed a linear range of 0.1–5 ng cm⁻³ with correlation coefficient of 0.9999, and the detection limit of 0.06 ng cm⁻³. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of silicate in ultrapurified water with satisfactory results.     

A low-cost method for determination of calcium carbonate in cement by membraneless vaporization with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection

This work presents a flow analysis method for direct quantitation of calcium carbonate in cement without pretreatment of the sample. The method is based on online vaporization of CO₂ gas following acidification of the sample inside a small chamber that has a flow of acceptor solution passing around it. Solubilization of the CO₂ gas into the acceptor stream changes the conductivity of the acceptor solution causing an increase of signal at the capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C⁴D) placed at the outlet of the vaporization chamber. This chamber is an adaption from previous work reported on ‘membraneless vaporization’ (MBL-VP).The method can be used in the quality control of production of mixed cement. These cement materials usually have calcium carbonate contents at high concentration range (e.g., 33-99% (w/w) CaCO₃). Analysis of samples by this method is direct and convenient as it requires no sample pretreatment. The method is low-cost with satisfactory accuracy and acceptable precision.     

CE method for analyzing Salmonella typhimurium in water samples

Salmonella typhimurium is commonly described as a food‐borne pathogen. However, natural and drinking water are known to be important sources for the transmission of this pathogen in developing and developed countries. The standard method to determine Salmonella is laborious and many false positives are detected. To solve this, the present work was focused on the development of a capillary zone electrophoresis method coupled to ultraviolet detection for determination of Salmonella typhimurium in water (mineral and tap water). Separations were performed in less than 11 minutes using 4.5 mM Tris (hydroxymethyl)‐aminomethane, 4.5 mM boric acid and 0.1 mM ethylene diamine tetraacetate (pH 8.4) with 0.1% v/v poly ethylene oxide as separation buffer. The precision of the method was evaluated in terms of repeatability obtaining a relative standard deviation of 10.5%. Using the proposed method Salmonella typhimurium could be separated from other bacteria that could be present in water such as Escherichia coli. Finally, the proposed methodology was applied to determine Salmonella typhimurium in tap and mineral water.     

Novel evaluation method for degradation rate of polymer electrolytes in fuel cells

A simple and new method has been developed to evaluate the degradation rate of polymer electrolytes caused by the cross-leakage of H₂ or O₂ in PEFCs. Mixed gas of H₂ and air with a constant composition was supplied to a sample powder suspended in water, e.g., consisting of Pt supporting carbon black coated with a perfluorosulfonated acid electrolyte. Fluoride ion released from the electrolyte into the water was quantitatively analyzed as a function of time. The electrolyte was decomposed only when H₂, O₂, and Pt coexisted. The present method enables to compare the durability of different electrolyte polymers directly under the same controlled environment within a short period.     

A new electrochemical method for trace water determination in methanol

A new electrochemical method for the determination of trace water in methanol has been developed. This method is based on the effect, that a minor change in the water content affects the value of conductivity measured for dissolved in the solutions electrolyte. The conductivity measurements were performed for four inorganic salts, i.e. NaCl, KCl, RbCl, and CsCl in solutions with different amounts of water traces in methanol and the calibration curves for three of them were determined. With the exception of cesium chloride the high values of correlation coefficients for the regression lines as well as low limits of detection were achieved in all cases which indicates that this method is a useful tool for the determination of the trace amounts of water in methanol.     

A voltammetric method for diuron determination in river water

A sensitive, simple, fast, and inexpensive method for determining diuron in water using square wave voltammetry and a glassy carbon electrode is presented. This method was developed to evaluate diuron contamination in river waters close to sugarcane cultivation, located in the metropolitan region of João Pessoa, in the state of Paraíba, Brazil. An analytical curve with a linear response ranging from 38.5–115.0 nmol L⁻¹ (r² = 0.993), a LOD equal 0.2 nmol L⁻¹, and recovery rates from 88.0 to 108.0 %. The proposed method does not require any previous chemical treatment of the sample, thus contributing to green analytical chemistry.     

A novel kinetic-spectrophotometric method for determination of nitrites in water

A simple, selective and sensitive kinetic method for the determination of nitrite in water was developed. The method is based on the catalytic effect of nitrite on the oxidation of methylene blue (MB) with bromate in a sulfuric acid medium. During the oxidation process, absorbance of the reaction mixture decreases with the increasing time, inversely proportional to the nitrite concentration. The reaction rate was monitored spectrophotometrically at λ = 666 nm within 30 s of mixing. Linear calibration graph was obtained in the range of 0.005–0.5 μg mL⁻¹ with a relative standard deviation of 2.09 % for six measurements at 0.5 μg mL⁻¹. The detection limit was found to be 0.0015 μg mL⁻¹. The effect of different factors such as acidity, time, bromate concentration, MB concentration, ionic strength, and order of reactants additions is reported. Interference of the most common foreign ions was also investigated. The optimum experimental conditions were: 0.38 mol L⁻¹ H₂SO₄, 5 × 10.4 mol L⁻¹ KBrO₃, 1.25 × 10.5 mol L⁻¹ MB, 0.3 mol L⁻¹ sodium nitrate, and 25°C. The proposed method was conveniently applied for the determination of nitrite in spiked drinking water samples.