Precise coulometric determination of redox inert anions based on electrolysis at the aqueous|organic solution interface

The flow cell proposed previously for the rapid and coulometric determination of cations based on the electrochemical ion transfer at the aqueous|organic solution interface was improved to be applicable to the determination of anions. The developed cell was composed of a porous poly(tetrafluoroethylene) tube (1.0 mm in inner diameter), a copper wire (0.8 mm in diameter) inserted into the tube, a platinum wire placed outside the tube, an organic solution into which the tube was immersed and a reference electrode in the organic solution. The aqueous solution containing a species of interest was flowed through the narrow gap between the tube and the copper wire. A potential difference was applied at the aqueous|organic solution interface by using the copper wire and the reference electrode in the organic solution in order to realize the ion transfer at the interface, and the current due to the interfacial ion transfer was detected by the copper and platinum wires. The developed cell was evaluated adopting the transfer of an anion such as perchlorate, picrate or alkylsulphonates from the aqueous solution to 1,2-dichloroethane (used as the organic solution), and demonstrated that the anions of 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³ level could be determined with coefficients of variations better than 0.2% (n = 5). The applicability of the developed cell to the flow injection analysis of anions was also discussed.