Voltammetry—Cathodic Stripping

Cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) is an analytical technique used for the analysis of low levels of analytes (principally trace metals and sulfur containing organic compounds) in aqueous solutions, and is based on the measurement of a reductive current response as a function of a potential scan toward more negative potentials. The technique is highly sensitive (limits of detection of 10− 10–10− 12 mol L− 1) because of the application of a preconcentrations step prior to the stripping step. During the preconcentration the analyte is collected on the surface of the working electrode (typically a mercury drop), often in the presence of an added electro-active ligand. The CSV technique has been used for automated measurements of trace metals in marine waters, but a key strength of CSV is in its use in trace metal speciation measurements in natural waters, in particular dissolved iron in marine waters. Recently, iron ligand observations have been made extensively in the global oceans.