Bringing part of the lab to the field: On-site chromium speciation in seawater by electrodeposition of Cr(III)/Cr(VI) on portable coiled-filament assemblies and measurement in the lab by electrothermal, near-torch vaporization sample introduction and indu

A field-deployable electrochemical approach to preconcentration, matrix clean up and selective electrodeposition of Cr(III) and Cr(III) + Cr(VI) in seawater is described. Using portable, battery-operated electrochemical instrumentation, Cr species in seawater were electrodeposited in the field on portable coiled-filament assemblies made from Re. Assemblies with dried residues of Cr(III) or Cr(III) + Cr(VI) on them were transported to the lab for concentration determination by electrothermal, near-torch vaporization (NTV) sample introduction and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES).Electrodeposition offers selective species deposition, preconcentration and matrix clean up from seawater samples. For selective deposition, free Cr(VI) was electrodeposited at − 0.3 V and Cr(III) + Cr(VI) at − 1.6 V (both vs Ag/AgCl). Interestingly, at 0 V (vs Ag/AgCl) and in the absence of an electrodeposition potential only Cr(VI) was spontaneously and selectively adsorbed on the coil and reasons for this are given. Due to preconcentration afforded by electrodeposition, the detection limits obtained after a 60 s electrodeposition at the voltages stated above using buffered (pH = 4.7) artificial seawater spiked with either Cr(III) or Cr(VI) were 20 pg/mL for Cr(III) and 10 pg/mL for Cr(VI). For comparison, the detection limit for Cr obtained by pipetting directly on the coil 5 μL of diluted standard solution was 500 pg/mL, thus it was concluded that electrodeposition offered 40 to 60 fold improvements. Matrix clean up is required due to the high salt content of seawater and this was addressed by simply rinsing the coil with 18.2 MΩ water without any loss of Cr species. Reasons for this are provided. The method was validated in the lab using buffered artificial seawater and it was used in the field for the first time by sampling seawater, buffering it and immediately electrodepositing Cr species on portable assemblies on-site.Electrodeposition in the field addressed species transformation during sample pre-treatment. Such transformations occur due to sample acidification and may take place during transport and possibly storage prior to analysis. Thus, electrodeposition in the field is more reflective of Cr species concentration at the environmental conditions (e.g., temperature) at the time of sampling. It also opens up the possibility for shipping to the lab portable assemblies with Cr species on them rather than shipping large volumes of sample to the lab, thus also reducing shipping, handling and storage costs.

► Cr(III)/Cr(VI) speciation by electrodeposition in the field.
► The method enables Cr-speciation at the time of sampling.
► Detection limits were 20 pg/mL for Cr(III) and 10 pg/mL for Cr(VI).
► An explanation for the selectivity of Cr(VI) over Cr(III) is offered.
► An explanation for why Cr remains on the coil during transport is provided.