Application of Nafion-coated mercury film electrodes to the microdetermination of formaldehyde by differential-pulse voltammetry

Abstract

Formaldehyde, after in situ conversion to an ionic derivative with Girard's reagent T, was first accumulated on a Nafion-coated mercury film electrode. The adsorbed derivative was then determined in aqueous solution using differential-pulse voltammetry. A single peak centred at –1.24 V (versus Ag–AgCl) was observed at pH 9.7 when using 0.4 mol l–1 NH4Cl–NH3 as the supporting electrolyte. The calibration graphs were rectilinear over the range from 2.0 × 10–7 to 1.0 × 10–5 mol l–1 formaldehyde. By incorporating a preconcentration step via the Nafion-modified electrode, the detection limit of the method for formaldehyde was calculated to be 3.4 × 10–8 mol l–1. The reproducibility and lifetime studies of the electrodes indicated that a newly prepared electrode could be repeatedly used for more than ten measurements with satisfactory precision. In addition, the method can be extended, without any modification, to the determination of acetaldehyde.