Microfluidic Setup for Simultaneous Separation and Electrochemical Determination of Hg2+ and Ag+ Ions in Water

Here is presented a setup made of a combination of an injection valve, a hand-made chromatographic microcolumn and an electrochemical detector for the simultaneous separation of Hg2+ and Ag+ ions in water. The microcolumns were packed with exchanger resin and used for the separation of Hg2+ and Ag+ ions, whereas a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) was the amperometric detector. The performances of the SPCE towards ions were firstly studied in a FIA setup. The efficiency of ion separation was then evaluated. The reproducibility, stability, and the regeneration of the obtained microcolumns were also studied and discussed.

Automated summary

A setup comprising an injection valve, a hand-made chromatographic microcolumn, and an electrochemical detector was presented for the simultaneous separation of Hg2+ and Ag+ ions in water. The SPCE performance towards ions was initially studied in a FIA setup, followed by evaluation of ion separation efficiency. The reproducibility, stability, and regeneration of the microcolumns were also investigated and discussed.