Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Germanium in Zinc Plant Electrolyte

✍ Scribed by Alan M. Bond; Steven Kratsis; O. Michael G. Newman

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 107 KB
• Volume: 10
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1040-0397
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1521-4109(199805)10:6<387::aid-elan387>3.0.co;2-w

✦ Synopsis

Germanium is detrimental to the electrochemical deposition of zinc. Consequently, its concentration needs to be monitored in an electrolytic zinc plant. Pyrocatechol violet can be used as a complexing agent with germanium. Adsorption of the complex followed by reduction allows a sensitive differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetric method to become available for the determination of germanium at a hanging mercury drop electrode in zinc plant electrolyte. Interference in the determination of germanium can occur from the presence of cadmium, lead and zinc metal ions. Careful adjustment of the pH of the solution shifts the germanium -pyrocatechol violet wave to potentials where intereference is minimal. However, if the relative concentration of cadmium and lead are too high, then these ions can be separated from germanium ions by bulk electrolysis to their amalgams at a mercury pool electrode. The method developed has been applied to zinc plant electrolyte and ore samples.