Investigations of oxidative UV photolysis

Summary Oxidative UV photolysis according to DIN standard 38406 E 16 1] has been investigated as a sample preparation method for voltammetry. UV photolysis has decisive advantages compared with mineral acid digestion owing to the simple procedure and the very low blank values, which in turn are due to the minimal reagent addition required. For UV photolysis with a high pressure mercury lamp, an apparatus has been used that employs a new type of sample cooling and that allows the simultaneous irradiation of 12 samples. The sample preparation for the voltammetric determination of zinc, cadmium, lead, copper, nickel and cobalt has been optimized using a model water solution and subsequently tested with real matrices. The type of organic matrix and the irradiation temperature determine the irradiation time required. To digest aromatic compounds, it is advantageous to work at reaction temperatures of ca. 90°C. The application of UV photolysis centers on water samples slightly polluted with organic compounds; however, it can also be used with more heavily polluted wastewaters. As the digestion times are at most 60 min, the method is of interest for routine analysis.