Determination of Ultratrace Thallium(I) by Anodic Stripping Voltammetry at Bismuth Film Electrodes Following Double Deposition and Stripping Steps

The double deposition and stripping steps were proposed to increase the sensitivity in anodic stripping voltammetry of thallium(I). Two in situ plated bismuth film electrodes with drastically different surface areas were exploited for the measurements. Thallium was at first deposited at the electrode with a large surface area. As the deposition step at the large electrode was finished, the electrode was moved at a short distance to the small one. The thallium stripped from the large electrode was then accumulated at the second electrode. Taking into account the small volume of space between the electrodes, the concentration of Tl(I) between the electrodes was drastically higher than that in the bulk solution. The deposition step at the second electrode was performed from solution with a higher concentration of Tl(I) therefore the detection limit was lowered. The calibration graph was linear from 5×10^?11 to 5×10^?9 mol L^?1 following deposition time of 300 s at the first and the second electrode.