Double deposition/accumulation and double stripping steps system as a new way of decreasing the detection limit and elimination of interferences in stripping voltammetry of inorganic ions: A review

Abstract

The article reviews an application of double deposition/accumulation and stripping steps as a new and beneficial manner of decreasing a detection limit and/or interferences elimination in stripping voltammetric determination of inorganic ions: Pb(II), Cd(II), Tl(I), U(VI), Au(III), As(III), Se(IV), In(III), Co(II), Cu(II), Bi(III) and Ga(III). A simple design of four‐electrodes system, containing two working electrodes differing in their surface area, allows for conducting two preconcentration and two stripping steps in one measurement cycle and in one voltammetric cell. Considerable analytes preconcentration and, consequently, an increase of sensitivity of determinations was obtained by conducting the first stripping step in a small volume of a solution near the microelectrode surface. An appropriate selection of the conditions of the first deposition/accumulation and the first stripping steps allowed for a minimization/elimination of interference effects. The proposed procedures allows for ultra‐trace levels determinations of mentioned inorganic ions (often impossible to determine by means of traditional three‐electrodes systems) without additional preconcentration outside the electrochemical cell and with the use of mercury‐free electrodes.