Stripping voltammetry using sequential standard addition calibration with the analytes themselves acting as internal standards

A novel two-step standard addition calibration procedure for stripping voltammetry, whereby the analytes under investigation act as internal standards for each other, is described. In this way, the benefits of an internal standard for improving precision are obtained, without the requirement to add internal standard solutions. Only the standard solutions used to perform quantification are required. The proposed methodology has been tested against the traditional standard addition method with no internal standardisation, for the measurement of Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu in synthetic and real ambient air sample digests. The new procedure is shown to improve substantially precision and accuracy compared to traditional standard addition without internal standardisation.