What are the pros and cons of mercury drop electrodes and mercury film electrodes for stripping voltammetry?
Mercury film electrodes consists of a thin “film” of mercury deposited on an electrode surface (typically glassy carbon) by reduction of a mercury(II) salt in solution. It can be difficult to obtain a reproducible film, and this can affect the reproducibility of the results, particularly when compared to the reproducibility obtained using a mercury drop electrode. However, the surface area/volume ratio is larger for the mercury film electrode, and this electrode is more stable, which allows a faster stirring rate to be used in the deposition step. Both these factors decrease the deposition time required for the mercury film electrode. In addition, the resolution for adjacent peaks is better for the mercury film electrodes, due to sharper peaks.
Mercury film electrodes consist of a thin film of mercury deposited on an electrode surface (typically glassy carbon) by reduction of a mercury(II) salt in solution. It can be difficult to obtain a reproducible film, and this can affect the reproducibility of the results, particularly when compared to the reproducibility obtained using a mercury drop electrode. However, the surface area/volume ratio is larger for the mercury film electrode, and this electrode is more stable, which allows a faster stirring rate to be used in the deposition step. Both these factors decrease the deposition time required for the mercury film electrode. In addition, the resolution for adjacent peaks is better for the mercury film electrodes, due to sharper peaks.
Mercury film electrodes consist of a thin “film” of mercury deposited on an electrode surface (typically glassy carbon) by reduction of a mercury(II) salt in solution. It can be difficult to obtain a reproducible film, and this can affect the reproducibility of the results, particularly when compared to the reproducibility obtained using a mercury drop electrode. However, the surface area/volume ratio is larger for the mercury film electrode, and this electrode is more stable, which allows a faster stirring rate to be used in the deposition step. Both these factors decrease the deposition time required for the mercury film electrode. In addition, the resolution for adjacent peaks is better for the mercury film electrodes, due to sharper peaks.
