Polarographic and Voltametric Determination of Carcinogenic Nitrobiphenyls at a Static and Hanging Mercury Drop Electrode

Abstract

A number of environmentally important substances exhibit genotoxic or ecotoxic properties leading to the need for sensitive and selective methods for their determination. Differential pulse polarography (DPP) and DC tast polarography (DCTP) at a static mercury drop electrode (SMDE) were used for the determination of trace amounts of carcinogenic nitrobiphenyls, namely 2‐nitrobiphenyl (2‐NBP), 3‐nitrobiphenyl (3‐NBP), and 4‐nitrobiphenyl (4‐NBP) within the concentration range from 2 · 10⁻⁷ to 1 · 10⁻⁴ mol · l⁻¹ for DC tast polarography and from 2 · 10⁻⁸ to 1 · 10⁻⁴ mol · l⁻¹ for DPP using a Britton‐Robinson buffer—methanol (1:1) mixture with resulting pH 12 as a base electrolyte. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) is applicable within the concentration range from 2 · 10⁻⁸ to 1 · 10⁻⁵ mol · l⁻¹. The above mentioned techniques were used for the analysis of mixtures of carcinogenic nitrobiphenyls.

Keywords:

• Static mercury drop electrode
• Hanging mercury drop electrode
• DC tast polarography
• Differential pulse polarography
• Differential pulse voltammetry
• 2‐Nitrobiphenyl
• 3‐Nitrobiphenyl
• 4‐Nitrobiphenyl

Acknowledgement

Jiří Barek thanks the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (grant no. 203/03/0182), Jiří Zima thanks to Ministry of Education (Research project 113100002).