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Objectives
What are electrometric methods of analysis? What are their advantages over other analytical tools? Survey of the different methods. Potentiometric methods Basic components
Reference electrodes
Indicator electrodes
Introduction
Electroanalytical Chemistry: group of analytical methods concerned with the measurement of electrical quantities, such as potential, current, charge, or conductance and their relationship to chemical parameters. Electroanalytical measurements requires at least two electrodes (metallic conductors) and a contacting sample solution (electrolyte), which constitute what is known as the electrochemical cell.
One of the two electrodes responds to the target analyte(s) and is thus termed indicator (or working) electrode. The second one, termed the reference electrode, is of constant potential (that is independent of the properties of the test solution). Electrochemical cells can be classified as electrolytic (when they consumed electricity from an external source) or galvanic ( if they are used to produce electrical energy).
Electrochemical processes occur at the electrode-solution interface where electroactive analyte can donate (oxidized) or accept (reduced) electron(s) 3 at the electrode surface.
General Advantages of Electrochemical Methods over Other Analytical Tools: a) selective for particular redox state of a species.
rates
charge transfer (kinetics) equilibrium constants
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I- Potentiometric Methods
Introduction 1) Potentiometric Methods: based on measurements of the potential of electrochemical galvanic cells in absence of appreciable currents (i = 0).
In the simplest case, we measure an electroactive species that is part of a galvanic cell. An electroactive chemical can donate or accept electrons at the electrode. If we have an unknown solution, the electrode used to detect the analyte is called the indicator electrode. We can connect the analyte half-reaction to a second electrode with a fixed composition (known potential). The second electrode is known as a reference electrode because of its known and constant potential. 2) Basic Components: a) reference electrode: gives reference for potential measurement. b) indicator electrode: where species of interest is measured. 6 c) potential measuring device.
Reference electrode
potentiometer
Fe2+
Cathode: electrode at which reduction occurs Anode: electrode at which oxidation occurs
Reference Electrodes
1. Silver-Silver Chloride Reference Electrode (Ag/AgCl/Cl) The silver-silver chloride electrode used in the previous example
Ag | AgCl Electrode : AgCl (s ) e - Ag (s ) Cl w/ saturated KCl
E 0.222 V E 0.197 V
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The reference electrode and the salt bridge are enclosed in one body
2. The Calomel Reference Electrode (Hg/Hg2Cl2/Cl) The calomel electrode is based on the reaction:
1 2
the saturated calomel electrode is so frequently used that it is usually abbreviated SCE The advantage of using saturated KCl is that [Cl] does not change if some liquid evaporates.
E Hg / Hg 2Cl2 Eo
Indicator Electrodes
There are several types of electrodes that can be used as indicator electrode; we will examine two types:
Metal electrodes develop potential in response to a redox reaction (electron transfer) on their surface
Ion-selective electrodes (ISE) allow selective migration of one type of ion (ion-exchange) to generate electric potential and are not based on redox reactions
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1- Metal Electrodes
Platinum is the most common metal indicator electrode Pt is mostly inert, not participating in reactions It simply allows electron transfer to/from solution Gold is also an inert metal indicator electrode Carbon electrodes are often used because many redox
respond to many ions in solution as a result of electron transfer (oxidationreduction) between the metal electrode and the electroactive species.
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Ag (s) e- Ag(s)
E 0.799 V
Hg 2Cl 2 (s) e- Hg ( l ) Cl
E 0.241 V
Ecell
C+
C+
Binding Agent
C+ can migrate across the interface. As soon as a tiny number of C+ ions diffuses from the membrane into the aqueous phase, there is an excess positive charge in the aqueous phase. This charge imbalance creates an electric potential difference that opposes diffusion of more C+ into the aqueous phase. 15
analyte
The electric potential difference across the external boundary between the membrane and analyte solution can be described:
E out
E membrane E out E in
The observed potential is thus a kind of boundary potentials that develop across the membrane that separates the analyte solution from the reference solution The electric potential difference across the ion selective membrane is 16 measured by two reference electrodes (one internal and the other external).
But almost the first, second and fourth terms in the previous equation are constants, so we can simplify the equation significantly:
EK
n charge of analyte
This equation applies to any ion-selective electrode. If the analyte is anion, the sign for n is negative.
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The combined glass electrodes uses two Ag/AgCl reference electrodes to measure the potential across a glass membrane that allows only H+ to pass through. H+ can replace cations bound to oxygen in glass in what is called an ion-exchange equilibrium.
Tetrahedral structure of the glass
silicon
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H+ is the only ion that binds significantly to the outer (hydrated) layer of glass Monovalent cations, Na+ or Li+ (glass membrane) can move through the silicate lattice. So, metal ions in the hydrated gel layer diffuse out of the glass membrane into the solution, while H+ can diffuse into the membrane to replace the metal ions.
H+ + Na+
soln. glass
(aH+ = 0.1)
(aH+ is variable) a
H+ + Na+
glass soln.
Ion-exchange equilibrium
pH value at 25 C
4.008
6.865
It is also important that the glass electrode be kept in solution when not in use. If not, the hydrated gel layers of the glass will dry out and the electrode will have to be reconditioned for several hours before use.
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2. Acid error
In strong acid, the measured pH is higher than the actual pH, perhaps because the glass surface is saturated with H+ and can not be protonated at any more sites.
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