Cation analysis scheme by differential pulse polarography

Systematic identification and determination of ion mixtures in solution is a goal of analytical chemists. Differential Pulse Polarography (DPP) is sensitive and extremely selective. For these reasons DPP is widely used, and several procedures for the simultaneous determination of reduced groups of cations, and methods for the optimization of results are found in the literature. This paper describes a systematic analysis of cation mixtures by DPP, using several different supporting electrolytes for the simultaneous determination of the maximum number of cations. The introduction of a cation analysis scheme of this type, which shows advantages over classical methods, is suitable for students in an electroanalytical chemistry course and other applications.