Discontinuous-flow potentiometric determination of chloride in a large-volume wall-jet cell using an ion-selective electrode based on a silver chloride film chemically deposited on a silver iodide support

A robust and sensitive chloride ion-selective electrode can be prepared by modifying the surface of an iodide-selective electrode using the chemical reaction with mercuric chloride in an oxidizing medium containing excess chloride. A thin film of silver chloride is thus formed ensuring a rapid and reproducible response to chloride. The analytical parameters of this electrode are similar to those of commercial silver chloride ion-selective electrodes, but its electrical impedance and signal noise are substantially lower and the response somewhat faster. Its sensitivity toward surfactants is somewhat suppressed. The electrode was used for discontinuous flow potentiometric (DFP) determinations in a large-volume wall-jet cell in which the electrode surface can be continuously reactivated by a cleaning solution contained in the cell. The method was applied to determination of chloride in ground waters from an industrial waste dumping site. The limit of determination is low 9 mug Cl(-)/l (2.6 x 10(-7)M), the precision good (the relative standard deviation varies from 0.6 to 3.0% for chloride contents from 2.90 to 0.15 mg/l, respectively) and the method correlates satisfactorily with the results of an indirect AAS determination of chloride. The sample throughput is high-90 measurements can be carried out per hour, corresponding to 30-40 determinations per hour.     

Preparation of a mercury film electrode modified by tri-n-octylphosphine oxide and the electrochemical properties of this electrode

Mercury film electrodes have been prepared on silver metal and silver-coated glassy-carbon supports and have been modified by a film of tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) in a poly(vinyl chloride) matrix. The electrodes have been characterized in detail and the effects of the modifying film parameters on their electrochemical properties have been studied. It has been shown that these electrodes permit selective and sensitive determinations of many metals. The most important parameters are the thickness of the modifying film, the modifier-to-matrix ratio in the modifying film and the base electrolyte composition. Data concerning the reactions of a number of metal ions on the modified electrode are given.     

ECE reaction pathways in the electrochemical reduction of dicyanocobalamin: Kinetics of ligand substitution in vitamin B12r cyanocob(II)alamin

The reduction of dicyanocob(III)alamin leads in a first stage to monocyanocob(II)alamin which can be partially converted into the base-off and base-on Co(II) complexes (B12r). The latter species are easier to reduce than the starting Co(III) complex leading to a single two-electron wave at low cyanide concentrations and/or low diffusion rates. Upon raising one of these two parameters two successive one-electron waves tend to be obtained corresponding to the Co(III)/Co(II) and Co(II)/Co(I) conversion respectively. The kinetics of the reduction process is investigated using potential-dependent potentiostatic chronoamperometry which allows a simpler analysis than cyclic voltammetry for systems involving a slow initial charge-transfer step. It is seen that the second electron, at the level of the first wave, comes from the electrode and not from the cyano-Co(II) complex in the solution. The reduction thus follows an ECE rather than a DISP-type mechanism in conditions where they can be distinguished by the usual electrochemical kinetic techniques. This contrasts with that which occurs in organic electrochemistry where the electron transfers are generally fast, while in the present case they are slow. The analysis of the reduction kinetics as a function of cyanide concentration gives some insight into the mechanism of the ligand substitution reaction at the Co(II). The kinetic data are discussed in terms of SN1-, SN2- and SNAr-like mechanisms.     

Electrochemistry of vitamin B12: Part VII. Role of the base-off/base-on reaction in the oxido-reduction in the B12r-B12s couple in non-aqueous solvents

The cyclic voltammetric study of vitamin B_12r in DMSO shows the importance of the base-on/base-off reaction in the electrochemical reduction mechanism. Depending upon the flux of electrons flowing through the system. part of the base-on complex is reduced through prior opening of the nucleotide side-chain which gives rise to the more easily reduced DMSO-Co(II) complex. The quantitative analysis of the variations of the peak heights with the sweep rate allows the thermodynamic and kinetic characterization of the base-on/base-off reactions to be determined. DMSO thus appears as a stronger ligand toward Co(II) than water, leading to an increased participation of the base-off complex in the reduction process. The greater stability of the DMSO complex is also related to the observation that electron transfer is significantly slower than in the case of the water complex. The importance of the ligand exchange reactions in the reduction of B_12r is confirmed by the effect of pyridine additions. Three complexes then participate in the reduction process, their reduction potentials lying in the order DMSO >Py >Bzm. The reduction mechanism involving the interconversion of the three complexes is described as a function of the electrode potential, the flux of electrons and the pyridine concentration. An estimation of the equilibrium and rate constants of the three ligand exchange reactions is made, based on the variations of the cyclic voltammograms with the sweep rate and the pyridine concentration.     

Preparation of a gold electrode modified with tri-n-octylphosphine oxide and its application to determination of mercury in the environment

A gold film electrode modified with a film of tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) in a PVC matrix has been prepared and tested. Cyclic voltammetric experiments have shown that the electrode is useful for highly selective voltammetric determinations of a number of metals, primarily Hg, Cr, Fe, Bi, Sb, U and Pb. The electrode has been applied to the anodic stripping voltammetric determination of mercury in some environmental samples, such as river sediments. Concentrations of 0.02-50 ppm of mercury can be determined with good precision and accuracy, as demonstrated by analyses of reference materials. A selective decomposition of the samples at laboratory temperature decreases the danger of sample contamination and of volatilization of mercury.     

Full protein flexibility is essential for proper hot-spot mapping

A traditional technique for structure-based drug design (SBDD) is mapping of protein surfaces with probe molecules to identify "hot spots" where key functional groups can best complement the receptor. Common methods, such as minimization of probes or calculation of grids, use a fixed protein structure in the gas phase, ignoring both protein flexibility and proper competition between the probes and water. As a result, the potential surface is quite rugged, and many spurious local minima are identified. In this work, we compared rigid and fully flexible proteins in mixed-solvent molecular dynamics, which allows for flexibility and full solvent effects. We were surprised to find that the large number of local minima are still found when a protein's conformational sampling is restricted; the dynamic averaging of probes and competition with water do not smooth the potential surface as one might expect. Only when a protein is allowed to be fully flexible in the simulation are the proper minima located and the spurious ones eliminated. Our results indicate that inclusion of full protein flexibility is critical to accurate hot-spot mapping for SBDD.     

Periodic precipitation of silver chromate/dichromate in gelatin

The spatial and temporal evolution of silver chromate/dichromate Liesegang Rings (LR) in gelatin is studied microdensitometrically and microscopically. The analysis of the distribution of various ionic species in dichromate solutions leads to a notion of the possibility of both silver chromate and silver dichromate precipitation. A simple mathematical model of diffusion in thin layers has been developed. The results of the turbidity front progression measurements are consistent with this model and, together with the secondary structure observations, support the postnucleation hypothesis of primary LR formation.     

Uniform molecular analysis using femtosecond laser mass spectrometry

The potential of femtosecond laser time-of-flight mass spectrometry (FLMS) for uniform quantitative analysis of molecules has been investigated. Various samples of molecular gases and vapours have been studied, using ultra-fast ( approximately 50 fs) laser pulses with very high intensity (up to 1.6 x 10(16) Wcm(-2)) for non-resonant multiphoton ionisation/tunnel ionisation. Some of these molecules have high ionisation potentials, requiring up to ten photons for non-resonant ionisation. The relative sensitivity factors (RSF) have been determined as a function of the laser intensity and it has been demonstrated that for molecules with very different masses and ionisation potentials, uniform ionisation has been achieved at the highest laser intensities. Quantitative laser mass spectrometry of molecules is therefore a distinct possibility. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.