Determination of inverse electric field strength of Ta 218O 5 film produced in biological electrolytes using 18O(p, α) 15N nuclear reaction analysis

Abstract

A 18O(p, α) 15N nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) method was developed for the determination of inverse electric field strengths (also referred to as anodic constants) of Ta 2O 5 oxide films prepared in biological solutions (urine, blood plasma and serum). The results show that fresh biological electrolytes have inverse electric field strengths equal to 17.5 ± 1.2, 17.3 ± 1.2, 17.3 ± 0.8 Å/V for plasma, serum and urine, respectively compared to 16.2 ± 0.2 and 15.7 Å/V, for 3% ammonium citrate water and distilled water, respectively. The inverse electric field strength is shown to depend on the pH variation, the metal substrate and the electrolytic ionic concentration. Freezing or aging of the biological sample results in greater variation and reduction of solution pH. Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) analyses show no incorporation of ions of Z > 11.