A new adsorptive square-wave stripping voltammetric method for the trace analysis of germanium

Abstract

The adsorptive stripping voltammetric determination of trace amounts of germanium(IV) based on the adsorptive accumulation of the germanium(IV)-N-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxysalicylaldimine complex on the hanging mercury drop electrode is reported. The cathodic current of the adsorbed complex was measured by square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry. The peak potential is at -0.44 V vs. Ag|AgCl|$KCl _{(sat)}$. The effects of various parameters such as ligand and supporting electrolyte ($H _3PO _4$) concentrations, accumulation potential and deposition time were investigated. After all optimization processes, the reduction peak was exploited for analytical purposes. The detection limit is 4.7×$10^ {-9}$ M and coefficient of variation is 7.5%. The possible interferences in soil and biological samples by some ions were evaluated in detail.