ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
DIVISION
COMMISSION ON ELECTROCHEMICAL CHEMISTRY
Terminology and Convention for
Electrochemical Stripping Analysis
(Technical Report)
Prepared for publication by Arnold
G.Fogg and Joseph
Wang
Introduction: The term electrochemical stripping analysis
is applied to a family of procedures involving a preconcentration of the determinand
(or a salt or derivative of the determinand) onto the working electrode, prior
to its direct or indirect determination by means of an electroanalytical technique1,2.
Such a combination of an effective accumulation step with an advanced measurement
procedure results in a very low detection limit, and makes stripping analysis
one of the most important techniques in trace analysis. The original stripping
analysis method involved the cathodic electrodeposition of amalgam-forming
metals onto a hanging mercury drop (working) electrode, followed by the anodic
voltammetric determination of the accumulated metal during a positive-going
potential scan3. Numerous advances during the 1980s and 1990s,
however, have led to the development of alternative preconcentration schemes
and advanced measurement procedures that further enhance the scope and power
of stripping analysis4,5. As a consequence, numerous variants of
stripping analysis exist currently, differing in their method of accumulation
and measurement. A recent text on stripping analysis is by Brainina and Neyman,6
and recent reviews on adsorptive stripping voltammetry are by Kalvoda and
Kopanica,7 van den Berg,8 and Paneli and Voulgaropoulos.9
Problems in selecting an effective nomenclature for stripping analysis
are discussed in this document. Stripping analysis incorporates a two step
process - accumulation and determination - and the technique can be considered
to be a 'hyphenated technique'. The method of determination has been included,
usually, in naming a particular technique, but often the method of accumulation
has not. In some cases, eg. adsorptive stripping voltammetry, the method of
accumulation is given but no indication is given as to whether the determination
is cathodic or anodic (or whether it measures a capacitance current due to
desorption).
The purpose of this document is to recommend classification, and relevant
terminology, for the different procedures used in electrochemical stripping
analysis.
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