Bipolar pulse conductometric monitoring of ion-selective electrodes: Part 2. Studies with the fluoride-selective electrode

Bipolar pulse conductometric monitoring of the fluoride ion-selective electrode (i.s.e.) is evaluated. It is shown that fluoride ion, in addition to affecting the electrode potential, also can have two effects upon the total resistance of the electrode. Fluoride ion can enter a gel layer on the surface of the doped lanthanum fluoride crystal; solution concentrations as low as 10^-9 M fluoride can significantly decrease the gel resistance. Fluoride concentrations in the potentiometric working range of the i.s.e. can also increase the electrode resistance. The conductometric detection limit is 2–4 decades lower than the potentiometric detection limit. However, because of the resistance factors, the conductometric curve is not monotonic, and shows a maximum at a fluoride concentration in the vicinity of the potentiometric detection limit. The two resistive changes possible have different time dependences; the decrease of the gel layer resistance becomes predominant at long measurement times, while the increase of the crystal resistance predominates within the first minute of exposure to solution. Hydroxide is shown to affect the i.s.e. potential and lower the gel layer resistance. Response time to changes in fluoride concentration are less than 15 s and do not show the strong concentration dependence observed potentiometrically. The i.s.e. is shown to have a slightly lower resistance to fluoride entering the crystal than to fluoride leaving it. The small resistive dependence on direction of ion migration may indicate a directional dependence of activation energy for ion transport across the membrane solution interfaces.     

No more conventional reference electrode: Transition time for determining chloride ion concentration

Ion selective electrodes (ISE) are used extensively for the potentiometric determination of ion concentrations in electrolytes. However, the inherent drift in these measurements and the requirement of a stable reference electrode restrict the feasibility of this method for long-term in-situ applications. This work presents a chronopotentiometric approach to minimize drift and avoid the use of a conventional reference electrode for measuring chloride ion concentration. An anodic current pulse is applied to a Ag/AgCl working electrode which initiates a faradaic reaction that depletes the chloride ions near the electrode surface. The rate of change in potential at the Ag/AgCl electrode, due to chloride ion depletion, reaches an inflection point once the chloride ions deplete completely near the electrode surface. The moment of the inflection point, also known as the transition time, is a function of the chloride ion concentration and is described by the Sand equation. It is shown that the square root of the transition time is linearly proportional to the chloride ion concentration. Drift in the response over two weeks is negligible: 59 μM/day when measuring 1 mM of Cl⁻ ions using a 10 A m⁻² current pulse. The transition time at a specific ion concentration can be tuned by the applied current pulse, e.g., in a solution containing 5 mM chloride ions, the transition times with current pulses of 10 and 20 A m⁻² are 1.56 and 0.25 s, respectively. The moment of inflection determines the response, and thus is independent of the absolute potential of reference electrode. Therefore, any metal wire can act as a pseudo-reference electrode, enabling this approach for long-term and integrated-sensor applications such as measurement inside concrete structures.     

Electroporation of subcutaneous mouse tumors by rectangular and trapezium high voltage pulses

The artificial electrotransfer of bioactive agents such as drugs, peptides or therapeutical nucleic acids and oligonucleotides by membrane electroporation (MEP) into single cells and tissue cells requires knowledge of the optimum ranges of the voltage, pulse duration and frequency of the applied pulses. For clinical use, the classical electroporators appear to necessitate some tissue specific presetting of the pulse parameters at the high voltage generator, before the actual therapeutic pulsing is applied. The optimum pulse parameters may be derived from the kinetic normal mode analysis of the current relaxations due to a voltage step (rectangular pulse). Here, the novel method of trapezium test pulses is proposed to rapidly assess the current (I)/voltage (U) characteristics (IUC). The analysis yields practical values for the voltage U(app) between a given electrode distance and pulse duration t(E) of rectangular high voltage (HV) pulses, to be preset for an effective in vivo electroporation of mouse subcutaneous tumors, clamped between two planar plate electrodes of stainless steel. The IUC of the trapezium pulse compares well with the IUC of rectangular pulses of increasing amplitudes. The trapezium pulse phase (s) of constant voltage and 3 ms duration, following the rising ramp phase (r), yields a current relaxation which is similar to the current relaxation during a rectangular pulse of similar duration. The fit of the current relaxation of the trapezium phase (s) to an exponential function and the IUC can be used to estimate the maximum current at a given voltage. The IUC of the falling edge (phase f) of the trapezium pulse serves to estimate the minimum voltage for the exploration of the long-lived electroporation membrane states with consecutive low-voltage (LV) pulses of longer duration, to eventually enhance electrophoretic uptake of ionic substances, initiated by the preceding HV pulses.     

A study of the mechanism of response of liquid ion exchanger calcium selective electrodes: Part III. Membrane behaviour under non-zero current conditions

The I-E response of the liquid membrane of the calcium selective electrode is studied under constant or linearly varying current and voltage. An increase in the membrane resistance, recorded when an electrical current crosses the membrane, is due to the outflow of Cl^? ions initially present in the membrane. When calcium ions are replaced by alkaline ions inside the membrane at constant current, the decrease of the membrane resistance due to an ion exchange is in agreement with the conductivity measurements (Part II). When the applied voltage is imposed besides the ion exchange one must take into account the interfacial overpotential to explain the important rectification effect observed. The interfacial transfer constant rate of alkaline ions seems greater than that of Ca²⁺ ion.     

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence induced by sequential hot electron and hole injection into aqueous electrolyte solution

Hole injection into aqueous electrolyte solution is proposed to occur when oxide-coated aluminum electrode is anodically pulse-polarized by a voltage pulse train containing sufficiently high-voltage anodic pulses. The effects of anodic pulses are studied by using an aromatic Tb(III) chelate as a probe known to produce intensive hot electron-induced electrochemiluminescence (HECL) with plain cathodic pulses and preoxidized electrodes. The presently studied system allows injection of hot electrons and holes successively into aqueous electrolyte solutions and can be utilized in detecting electrochemiluminescent labels in fully aqueous solutions, and actually, the system is suggested to be quite close to a pulse radiolysis system providing hydrated electrons and hydroxyl radicals as the primary radicals in aqueous solution without the problems and hazards of ionizing radiation. The analytical power of the present excitation waveforms are that they allow detection of electrochemiluminescent labels at very low detection limits in bioaffinity assays such as in immunoassays or DNA probe assays. The two important properties of the present waveforms are: (i) they provide in situ oxidation of the electrode surface resulting in the desired oxide film thickness and (ii) they can provide one-electron oxidants for the system by hole injection either via F- and F⁺-center band of the oxide or by direct hole injection to valence band of water at highly anodic pulse amplitudes.     

Bipolar pulse conductivity measurements applied to ion-selective electrodes

Bipolar pulse conductivity (BICON) measurements were evaluated as a means of using calciumion-selective electrodes with an upoised reference electrode. The study shows a change in total cell conductivity with Ca²⁺ concentration at low concentrations in the absence of other electrolytes but no change in conductivity with Ca²⁺ concentration in the presence of 0.1 M KCl. The computed voltage at zero current varied with Ca²⁺ concentration but electroactive species interfered with the measurements. For the conditions used, it is concluded that there is no change in conductivity of the ion-selective membrane with Ca²⁺ concentration and that reliable quantitation of Ca²⁺ is not feasible.     

Differential pulse voltammetric study of the complexation of an iron porphyrin at substoichiometric levels of ligand

A new approach is presented for elucidating the complex identities of iron porphyrins when both the electrode reactant and product are strongly coordinated by an equal number of ligands. The current is monitored for each electroactive form of the complex at substoichiometric levels of ligand. The increased resolution afforded by the differential pulse technique is used to elucidate the stepwise formation of complexes. Current—voltage curves are described for perchlorato(2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphinato) iron(III), in the presence of low levels of imidazole. At imidazole:porphyrin ratios of less than 2, the mono-adduct is reduced at a peak potential of —0.11 V while the bis-ligand adduct is reduced at —0.38 V. This marks the first electrochemical evidence for a mono-ligated imidazole—Fe(III) species.     

Electrolysis of ammonia for hydrogen production catalyzed by Pt and Pt-Ir deposited on nickel foam

Electrolysis of ammonia in alkaline electrolyte solution was applied for the production of hydrogen. Both Pt-loaded Ni foam and Pt-Ir loaded Ni foam electrodes were prepared by electrodeposition and served as anode and cathode in ammonia electrolytic cell, respectively. The electrochemical behaviors of ammonia in KOH solution were individually investigated via cyclic voltammetry on three electrodes, i.e. bare Ni foam electrode, Pt-loaded Ni foam electrode and Pt-Ir loaded Ni foam electrode. The morphology and composition of the prepared Ni foam electrode were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Effects of the concentration of electrolyte solution and temperature of electrolytic cell on the electrolysis reaction were examined in order to enhance the efficiency of ammonia electrolysis. The competition of ammonia electrolysis and water electrolysis in the same alkaline solution was firstly proposed to explain the changes of cell voltage with the electrolysis proceeding. At varying current densities, different cell voltages could be obtained from galvanostatic curves. The low cell voltage of 0.58 V, which is less than the practical electrolysis voltage of water (1.6 V), can be obtained at a current density of 2.5 mA/cm². Based on some experimental parameters, such as the applied current, the resulting cell voltage and output of hydrogen gas, the power consumption per gram of H₂ produced can be estimated.     

Influence of anodizing voltage mode on the nanostructure of TiO2 nanotubes

The nanostructure of self-ordered porous anodic TiO₂ nanotubes (PATNTs) has extraordinary influence on their physical and chemical properties. For this reason, extensive attention has been paid on pulse anodization to regulate the nanostructure of PATNT. However, the relationships between the nanostructures and current curves still remain unclear. Based on the traditional potentiostatic and pulse anodizations, five different modes (i.e., potentiostatic, pulse, triangle wave, decrease, and increase step by step) of applied voltage and their influences on the nanostructures of PATNT have been investigated in detail. The growing rates of the nanotubes anodized under five different modes were compared for the first time. The results show that the growing rate of pulse voltage anodization is the fastest, reaching 116.4 nm min^?1. The slowest is triangle wave voltage anodization, only 59.3 nm min^?1. When the applied voltage decreases step-by-step, branched nanotubes can be formed in the bottom of PATNT. Yet, when the applied voltage increases step-by-step, triple-layer nanotubes with different diameters are formed, and the forming mechanism of this special nanostructure is discussed. The present results may be helpful to understand the mechanism of PATNT and facilitate the assembling diverse nanostructures for extensive applications in photocatalysis, dye-sensitized solar cells, and biomedical devices.     

Calcium(II) meso‐2,3‐di­phenyl­succinate heptahydrate

The title compound, [Ca(C₁₆H₁₂O₄)(H₂O)₆]·H₂O, adopts a conformation about the central C—C bond that places the two carboxylate groups in an anti orientation. The crystal consists of layers of two‐dimensional arrays of 2,3‐di­phenyl­succinate dianions which are linked by bridging Ca²⁺ cations. The unit cell contains two Ca²⁺ cations in an unusual four‐membered Ca—O—Ca—O ring in which the bridging O atoms belong to water mol­ecules rather than carboxyl­ates, i.e. poly­[[[di‐μ‐aqua‐bis­[penta­aqua­calcium(II)]]‐μ‐(meso‐2,3‐di­phenyl­succinato‐O:O′)] succinate dihydrate].     

Influence of inorganic scalants and natural organic matter on nanofiltration membrane fouling

The influence of inorganic scalants and NOM on nanofiltration (NF) membrane fouling was investigated by a crossflow bench-scale test cell. Mathematical fouling models were used to determine kinetics and fouling mechanisms of NF membrane. It was observed that, with natural organic matter (NOM) at a concentration of 10 mg L⁻¹, divalent cation, i.e. calcium (Ca²⁺), exhibited greater flux decline than monovalent cation, i.e. sodium (Na⁺), while solution flux curves dominated cake formation model, especially at high ionic strength. For inorganic scalants of polyanions, i.e. carbonate (CO₃²⁻), sulphate (SO₄²⁻), and phosphate (PO₄³⁻), solution flux curves were relatively fitted well with pore blocking model, possibly due to precipitated species formed and blocked on membrane surface and/or pores. For different divalent cations (i.e. calcium and magnesium (Mg²⁺)), calcium showed greater flux decline than magnesium, possibly due to higher concentration of precipitated calcium species than that of precipitated magnesium species based on the pC (−log concentration) and pH diagram.     

A theoretical model of the electron capture detector

Summary This paper reports a theoretical model of the ECD detector. The model presented here can be used to examine the influence of pulse parameters on the current and signal characteristics of the detector. On the basis of this model it was found that a space charge is created in the detector when it is supplied with pulse voltage. Due to the electric potential generated by the space charge, in the time between the pulses the electrons and negative ions move towards the detector electrodes. The ionization current of the detector is the sum of the electron current flowing to the anode under the influence of the supplied pulse voltage and the current flowing under the space charge potential in the time between the pulses. It was also found that the detector signal is the sum of the differences between those two currents caused by introducing the sample molecules to the detector. The model was tested for a detector with different electrode configurations which worked at temperature of 300 K or 573 K and which was supplied with nitrogen or Ar+10% CH₄ as the carrier gas.     

Additive Differential Pulse Voltammetry for the Study of Slow Charge Transfer Processes at Spherical Electrodes

The application of additive differential pulse voltammetry to the study of the kinetics of a charge transfer process is studied. A simple analytical solution is presented, valid for spherical electrodes of any size and for electrode processes of any reversibility. From this solution, valuable diagnostic criteria for the elucidation of the electrochemical reversibility are established based on the variation of the ADPV signal with the duration of the potential pulses, the electrode radius and the pulse height. Working curves for the determination of the kinetic parameters are also given. The value of the ADPV technique is experimentally demonstrated by studying the kinetics of the reduction of 3‐nitrophenolate^? and europium³⁺ at mercury hemispherical microelectrodes.     

Determination of Cr(VI) Using a Pulse Amperometric Method with an Ionophore‐Immobilized Membrane Electrode

A pulse amperometric method for the determination of Cr(VI) in aqueous solution has been investigated with an ionophore‐immobilized membrane electrode. The double potential step chronoamperometry was applied to measure the current for the facilitated transfer of Cr(VI) by the membrane with N,N,N′,N′‐tetrakis(3‐aminopropyl)‐1,4‐butanediamine (DABAm4) coated on a silver electrode. The current responses were stably detected by the pulse amperometry while voltage pulses, ΔE=?240 mV, of short duration of 50 ms were employed at the interval of 5 s. In the range of 1.65–81.3 μM, Cr(VI) in water could be selectively determined in the presence of various interfering anions below 100 μM without removal of Cr(VI) from the interferences using an ion exchange column.     

An alternative field switching ion gate for ESI-ion mobility spectrometry

In electrospray ionization (ESI)-ion mobility spectrometry, continuously generated ions must be desolvated in a first tube before short ion pulses are introduced into a second (drift) tube. Both tubes are separated by an ion-gate. The resolving power of the resulting drift time spectrum is strongly influenced by the design of the ion gate. In the case of the Bradbury-Nielsen gates typically used, an orthogonal field between oppositely charged, parallel wires blocks ions from entering the drift tube. However, the blocking field also distorts the entering ion cloud. One alternative, which eliminates these effects and therefore enables a potentially higher resolving power, is already known for spectrometers with small ionization volumes, where ions are formed between two electrodes and subsequently transferred into the drift tube by a high voltage pulse. Based on this setup, we introduce an alternative ion gate design for liquid samples, named field switching ion gate (FSIG). The continuous flow of ions generated by ESI is desolvated in the first tube and introduced into the space between two electrodes (repeller and transfer electrodes). A third (blocking) electrode prevents the movement of ions into the drift tube in the closed state. Ions are transferred during the open state by pulsing the voltages of the repeller and blocking electrodes. First results demonstrate an increase of the resolving power by 100% without intensity losses and further changes in the spectrometer setup. The parameters of the FSIG, such as electrode voltages and pulse width, are characterized allowing the optimization of the spectrometer’s resolving power.     

A computer-based programmable waveform generator

The programmable waveform generator, which is capable of producing complex voltage—time programs, is based on a PDP-$\text{11}\text{34}$ minicomputer with associated DIGITAL hardware. The desired waveform is obtained by clock-controlled output of a symmetrical triangular voltage sweep. The software can be readily adapted to any computer system. Ramp sections of 1 mV s^-1—50 V s^-1 and potential pulses of 50 μs—500 s can be obtained.     

Interaction of calcium ion with sodium triphosphate determined by potentiometric and calorimetric techniques

The stoichiometry of the interaction of Ca²⁺ with sodium triphosphate was determined using a Ca²⁺ sensitive electrode, divalent ion sensitive electrode, a glass electrode and by titration calorimetry, A 2:1 and 1:1 complex of Ca²⁺ and P₃O^5?₁₀ is found when titrating calcium chloride with sodium triphosphate by the calcium ion sensitive electrode and tritation calorimetry. However, only by titration calorimetry is the 2:1 and 1:1 complex found when titrating sodium triphosphate with calcium chloride. Thermodynamic value (log K, ΔH and ΔS) are reported for the formation of CaP(in3)O^?3₁₀ and Ca₂P₃O^?₁₀ in aqueous solution.     

The calcium‐binding properties of pamidronate,a bone‐resorption inhibitor

The title compound, calcium bis(3‐ammonio‐1‐hydroxy­propyl­idene‐1,1‐bis­phospho­nate) dihydrate, Ca²⁺·2C₃H₁₀N­O₇P₂^?·2H₂O, consists of calcium octahedra arranged in columns along the c axis and coordinated by hydrogen‐bonded molecular anions. The Ca²⁺ cation lies on a twofold axis. Pamidronate adopts a twisted conformation of the hydroxy­alkyl­amine backbone that enables the formation of an intramolecular N—H?O hydrogen bond. The molecular anion is chelating monodentate as well as bidentate, with an O?O bite distance of 3.0647 (15) Å.     

多贝斯在石墨烯修饰玻碳电极上的电化学行为及其测定

制备了石墨烯修饰玻碳电极（GN/GCE）。 在0.05 mol/L H2SO4溶液中,用循环伏安法研究了多贝斯在GN/GCE上的电化学行为。 结果表明,GN/GCE对多贝斯的氧化还原反应有明显的电催化作用。 建立了测定多贝斯的新方法,用微分脉冲伏安法测得多贝斯的氧化峰电流与其浓度在2.0×10-9~1.2×10-6 mol/L范围内呈线性关系,检出限为1.0×10-9 mol/L(S/N=3)。 该法可用于胶囊中多贝斯的测定,修饰电极有较好的稳定性和重新性。