title: Application of thin-shielded mercury microelectrodes in anodic stripping voltammetry.
abstract: The performance in anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) of hemispherical mercury microelectrodes, fabricated by electrodeposition of liquid mercury on the surface of Pt microdisks which were surrounded by a rather thick or thin insulating shield, was compared. The Pt microdisks were produced by sealing a wire of 25 microm diameter into a glass capillary, and by coating the cylindrical length of the Pt wire with a cathodic electrophoretic paint. The ratio of the overall tip radius b, to the basal radius of the electrode a, so-called RG=b/a, was equal to 110+/-10 and 1.52+/-0.01 for the thick- and thin-shielded microdisk, respectively. The mercury microelectrodes were characterized by cyclic voltammetry at 1 mVs(-1), in 1mM Ru(NH(3))(6)(3+) aqueous solution. The steady-state voltammogram recorded with the thin-shielded mercury microelectrode displayed less hysteresis, while the steady-state current was about 30% higher than that of the thicker one. This was a consequence of the additional flux due to diffusion from behind the plane of the electrode. The flux enhancement, which was operative at the thin-shielded mercury microelectrode during the deposition step in the ASV experiments, allowed recording stripping peaks for Cd and Pb, which resulted about 32% larger than those recorded at the thicker shielded mercury microelectrode, under same experimental conditions. The usefulness of the thin-shielded mercury microelectrode for ASV measurements in real samples was verified by determining the content of heavy metal ions released in the pore water (pH 4.5) of a soil slurry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Venice, Calle Larga, S. Marta 2137, 30123 Venice, Italy. sig@unive.it
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Daniele
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bragato
authors.forename: M Antonietta
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Baldo
authors.forename: Ilenia
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ciani