A.c. polarographic determination of polyethylene glycols — application to analysis of photographic processing solutions

The tensammetric behaviour of several polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules is described. At neutral pH, PEG gives both a positive and a negative peak. At high pH the positive peak is obscured by the anodic dissolution of mercury and at low pH the negative peak is obscured by the hydrogen evolution reaction. Tensammetry is shown to be applicable to the direct determination of PEG in photographic processing solutions. Despite the complex chemical composition of these solutions the only pre-treatment required was dilution of samples.