Determination of Total Mercury in Solid Samples by Anodic Stripping Voltammetry

The anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) was investigated to determine total mercury in solid samples using a gold electrode. The mercury was deposited on the gold electrode in a preconcentration step. The oxidation peak of mercury was irreversible. The optimal conditions of the procedure were found to be as follows: 0.05 mol L-1 HCl solution, deposition potential -0.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl/KCls, deposition time 40 s, and sweep rate 0.04 V s(-1). Under the optimal conditions, the peak current showed a linear dependence on Hg2+ concentration in the range from 0.01 to 0.1 mg l(-1). The detection limit and quantification limit were 4.28 mu g L-1 and 12.98 mu g L-1, respectively. The mean recovery and relative standard deviation were 91.2% and 2.4% (n = 9). The procedure was successfully applied for determining total mercury in samples collected from Hanoi light bulb warehouse-The Rang Dong Light Source and Vacuum Flask JSC. The results were compared with cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS).

Automated summary

The anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) method with a gold electrode was successfully applied for determining total mercury in solid samples. Under optimal conditions, the method showed good accuracy and reproducibility for determining total mercury content.