Final report on key comparison CCQM-K73: Amount content of H+ in hydrochloric acid (0.1 mol kg−1)

Abstract

This key comparison (KC), CCQM-K73, was performed to demonstrate the capability of the participating National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) to measure the amount content of H+, νH+, in an HCl solution with a nominal νH+ of 0.1 mol kg−1. The comparison was a joint activity of the Electrochemical Working Group (EAWG) and Inorganic Analysis Working Group (IAWG) of the CCQM and was coordinated by NIST (USA) and CENAM (Mexico).The agreement of the results was not commensurate with the claimed uncertainties of the subset of participants that claimed small uncertainties for this determination. A workshop on technical issues relating to the CCQM-K73 measurements was conducted at the joint IAWG-EAWG meeting at the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), Paris (Sèvres) in April 2010. Several possible sources of bias were investigated, but none could explain the observed dispersion among the participants' results.In the absence of a specific cause for the dispersion, the IAWG and EAWG decided to assign a Key Comparison Reference Value, KCRV, and standard uncertainty of the KCRV, uKCRV, based on the DerSimonian–Laird statistical estimator. The uKCRV is dominated by the between-laboratory scatter of results in CCQM-K73. The uncertainty estimates from the participants with the lowest reported uncertainties remain unsupported by this KC.Main text.To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/.The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).