No abstract

Carbon paste electrodes bulk-modified with Bi(2)O(3)were used for the determination of Cd(II) and Pb(II). The best composition was 1% (wt%) Bi(2)O(3) in the paste. The measurements were made by differential pulse voltammetry in the potential range from -1.2 V to -0.3 V. The peak potential of the reoxidation of Cd is -0.85 V, and of Pb -0.60 V vs. SCE. The lowest concentration that could be determined was 5 microg L(-1) of both metals (preconcentration time 240 s), the relative standard deviation was 3.5%-5.0% (four determinations). The correlation coefficient ( r(2)) of the calibration curves was 0.9966 (for Cd) and 0.9971 (for Pb). The Bi(2)O(3)-modified electrode could be used for the analysis of drinking water, mineral water and urine.

A sensitive catalytic voltammetric method for determining trace iron at a bismuth film electrode (BiFE) is described. The method is based on the cathodic reduction of the Fe(III)-triethanolamine (TEA) complex to Fe(II). It has been proved that the addition of KBrO3 causes rapid oxidation of Fe(II) and TEA, and therefore results in a large increase in the analytical signal from Fe(III) when TEA is placed in alkaline solution. When TEA was present in the solution, operating the BiFE under optimized conditions yielded a stable catalytic voltammetric response for iron, with high sensitivity (0.88 muA muM(-1)), good precision (RSD=3.9%) and a low detection limit (7.7 x 10(-9) M), obtained without any preconcentration procedure. Possible interferences from the coexisting ions and surface-active substances were investigated. Finally, the method was applied with satisfactory results to the determination of iron in certified reference river water samples.

Bismuth film electrodes (BiFE) prepared by plating a glassy carbon support ex situ from a solution containing 0.5 M LiBr and 1 M HCl was tested for the determination of cobalt traces using adsorptive stripping voltammetry (AdSV) and catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry (CAdSV). AdSV enables one to determine cobalt as the Co(II)-dimethylglyoximate (Co-DMG) complex down to 0.3 mg/L Co. Addition of NaNO 2 to the solution containing dimethylglyoxime in ammonia buffer provides a 15-fold enhancement of the voltammetric signal of cobalt due to the catalytic effect occurring during the reduction of Co(II)-DMG. Utilization of the bismuth film electrode under optimized conditions assures a stable catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetric response for Co, with an extremely high sensitivity (1.75 mA/(mg/L)), good precision (RSD 3%), and a low detection limit (0.07 mg/L Co with 60 s of adsorptive accumulation). The results of the measurement of the catalytic cobalt response in the presence of DMG and nitrite under hydrodynamic amperometric conditions have shown the BiFE to be an attractive and suitable tool for the rapid determination of cobalt at low mg/L level in both batch and flow systems.