Development and application of a poly(2,2′-dithiodianiline) (PDTDA)-coated screen-printed carbon electrode in inorganic mercury determination

In this work, monomer solutions of aniline (ANI) and 2,2'-dithiodianiline (DTDA), an aniline derivative containing -S-S- links, were prepared and used in the electrochemical copolymerisation of ANI and DTDA by cyclic voltammetry on a screen-printed electrode (SPE) in 1 M HCl. Electropolymerisation of aniline on the surface of the screen-printed working electrode was performed by sweeping the potential between -500 and + 1100 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) at a sweep rate of 100 mV/s. Electrocopolymerisation was performed with a mixture of ANI and DTDA by sweeping the potential between -200 and + 1100 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) at a sweep rate of 100 mV/s [J.L. Hobman, J.R. Wilson, N.L. Brown, in: D.R. Lovley (Ed.), Environmental Microbe Metal Interactions, ASM Press, Herndon, Va. 2000, p. 177]. The cyclic voltammogram (CV) for each of the electrochemically deposited polyaniline (PANI) and the mixture of AN! and DTDA for the copolymer polymerisation on SPCE were recorded for electrochemical analysis of the peak potential data for the mono and copolymer. Anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) was used to evaluate a solution composed of (1 x 10(-6) M HgCl2, 0.1 M H2SO4, 0.5 M NCl), in the presence of the co-polymer sensor electrode. The Hg2+ ions were determined as follows: (i) pre-concentration and reduction on the modified electrode surface and (ii) subsequent stripping from the electrode surface during the positive potential sweep. The experimental conditions optimised for Hg2+ determination included the supporting electrolyte concentration and the accumulation time. The results of the study have shown the use of a conducting polymer modified SPCE as an alternative transducer for the voltammetric stripping and analysis of inorganic Hg2+ ions. (C)\ 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.