Differential pulse

Figure Bl.28.5. Applied potential-time wavefonns for (a) nomial pulse voltannnetry (NPV), (b) differential pulse voltannnetry (DPV), and (e) square-wave voltammetry (SWV), along with typieal voltannnograms obtained for eaeh method.

Stripping voltammetry involves the pre-concentration of the analyte species at the electrode surface prior to the voltannnetric scan. The pre-concentration step is carried out under fixed potential control for a predetennined time, where the species of interest is accumulated at the surface of the working electrode at a rate dependent on the applied potential. The detemiination step leads to a current peak, the height and area of which is proportional to the concentration of the accumulated species and hence to the concentration in the bulk solution. The stripping step can involve a variety of potential wavefomis, from linear-potential scan to differential pulse or square-wave scan. Different types of stripping voltaimnetries exist, all of which coimnonly use mercury electrodes (dropping mercury electrodes (DMEs) or mercury film electrodes) [7, 17]. 

In hydrodynamic voltammetry current is measured as a function of the potential applied to a solid working electrode. The same potential profiles used for polarography, such as a linear scan or a differential pulse, are used in hydrodynamic voltammetry. The resulting voltammograms are identical to those for polarography, except for the lack of current oscillations resulting from the growth of the mercury drops. Because hydrodynamic voltammetry is not limited to Hg electrodes, it is useful for the analysis of analytes that are reduced or oxidized at more positive potentials. 

Potential-excitation signals and voltammograms for (a) normal pulse polarography, (b) differential pulse polarography, (c) staircase polarography, and (d) square-wave polarography. See text for an explanation of the symbols. Current is sampled at the time intervals indicated by the solid circles ( ). 

The concentration of As(III) in water can be determined by differential pulse polarography in 1 M HCl. The initial potential is set to -0.1 V versus the SCE, and is scanned toward more negative potentials at a rate of 5 mV/s. Reduction of As(III) to As(0) occurs at a potential of approximately —0.44 V versus the SCE. The peak currents, corrected for the residual current, for a set of standard solutions are shown in the following table. 

Peak currents in differential pulse polarography are a linear function of the concentration of analyte thus... 

Differential pulse polarography and stripping voltammetry have been applied to the analysis of trace metals in airborne particulates, incinerator fly ash, rocks. 

Miscellaneous Samples Besides environmental and clinical samples, differential pulse polarography and stripping voltammetry have been used for the analysis of trace metals in other samples, including food, steels and other alloys, gasoline, gunpowder residues, and pharmaceuticals. Voltammetry is also an important tool for... 

Sensitivity In many voltammetric experiments, sensitivity can be improved by adjusting the experimental conditions. For example, in stripping voltammetry, sensitivity is improved by increasing the deposition time, by increasing the rate of the linear potential scan, or by using a differential-pulse technique. One reason for the popularity of potential pulse techniques is an increase in current relative to that obtained with a linear potential scan. 

Selectivity Selectivity in voltammetry is determined by the difference between half-wave potentials or peak potentials, with minimum differences of+0.2-0.3 V required for a linear potential scan, and +0.04-0.05 V for differential pulse voltammetry. Selectivity can be improved by adjusting solution conditions. As we have seen, the presence of a complexing ligand can substantially shift the potential at which an analyte is oxidized or reduced. Other solution parameters, such as pH, also can be used to improve selectivity. 

Garda-Armada, P. Losada, J. de Vicente-Perez, S. Cation Analysis Scheme by Differential Pulse Polarography, /. 

The amount of sulfur in aromatic monomers can be determined by differential pulse polarography. Standard solutions are prepared for analysis by dissolving 1.000 mb of the purified monomer in 25.00 mb of an electrolytic solvent, adding a known amount of S, deaerating, and measuring the peak current. The following results were obtained for a set of calibration standards... 

Zinc can be used as an internal standard in the analysis of thallium by differential pulse polarography. A standard... 

Differential pulse polarography is used to determine the concentrations of lead, thallium, and indium in a mixture. ... 

A novel sensitive and seleetive adsorptive stripping proeedure for simultaneous determination of eopper, bismuth and lead is presented. The method is based on the adsorptive aeeumulation of thymolphetalexone (TPN) eomplexes of these elements onto a hanging mereury drop eleetrode, followed by reduetion of adsorbed speeies by voltammetrie sean using differential pulse modulation. The optimum analytieal eonditions were found to be TPN eoneentration of 4.0 p.M, pH of 9.0, and aeeumulation potential at -800 mV vs. Ag/AgCl with an aeeumulation time of 80 seeonds. The peak eurrents ai e proportional to the eoneentration of eopper, bismuth and lead over the 0.4-300, 1-200 and 1-100 ng mL ranges with deteetion limits of 0.4, 0.8 and 0.7 ng mL respeetively. The proeedure was applied to the simultaneous determination of eopper, bismuth and lead in real and synthetie samples with satisfaetory results. 

DETERMINATION OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN ALCOHOLIC DRINKS BY DIFFERENTIAL PULSE POLAROGRAPHY... 

Raki, a Turkish alcoholic drink was also analyzed by differential pulse polarography and copper, iron and zinc could be determined. For the arsenic content in beer a more sensitive method had to be applied. For this method a new catalytic method is established and the arsenic content was determined by using this new method. 

In just the same way as differential pulse polarography represents a vast improvement over conventional polarography (see Section 16.10), the application of a pulsed procedure leads to the greatly improved technique of differential pulsed anodic (cathodic) stripping volammetry. A particular feature of this... 

In the following determination use of the S.M.D.E. and of differential pulse stripping is described. All the glass apparatus used must be rigorously cleaned vessels should be filled with pure 6M nitric and left standing overnight and then thoroughly cleaned with re-distilled water. 

DC = direct current NP = normal pulse DP = differential pulse SW = square wave AC = alternating... 

The difference between the various pulse voltammetric techniques is the excitation waveform and the current sampling regime. With both normal-pulse and differential-pulse voltammetry, one potential pulse is applied for each drop of mercury when the DME is used. (Both techniques can also be used at solid electrodes.) By controlling the drop time (with a mechanical knocker), the pulse is synchronized with the maximum growth of the mercury drop. At this point, near the end of the drop lifetime, the faradaic current reaches its maximum value, while the contribution of the charging current is minimal (based on the time dependence of the components). 

Differential-pulse voltammetry is an extremely useful technique for measuring trace levels of organic and inorganic species, hi differential-pulse voltammetry, fixed-magnitude pulses—superimposed on a linear potential ramp—are applied to the working electrode at a time just before the end of the drop (Figure 3-5). The current... 

The differential-pulse operation results in a very effective correction of the charging background current. The charging-current contribution to the differential current is negligible, as described by... 

FIGURE 3-5 Excitation signal for differential-pulse voltammetry. 

FIGURE 3-6 Differential pulse (a) and DC (b) polarograms for a 1.3 x 10 5 M chloramphenicol solution. (Reproduced with permission from reference 7.)... 

FIGURE 3-7 Normal-pulse (curve A) and differential-pulse (curve B) polarograms for a mixture of 1 mg L-1 cadmium and lead ions. The electrolyte is 0.1 M HNOj. 

The peak-shaped response of differential-pulse measurements results in unproved resolution between two species with similar redox potentials, hi various situations, peaks separated by 50 mV may be measured. Such quantitation depends not only upon the corresponding peak potentials but also on the widths of the peak. The width of the peak (at half-height) is related to the electron stoichiometry ... 

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