Investigation of potential interferences on the measurement of dissolved reactive phosphate using zirconium oxide-based DGT technique

A diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique based on hydrous zirconium oxide (Zr-oxide) has been recently developed for the measurement of dissolved reactive phosphate (DRP). In this study, the detailed performance of the DGT technique is reported. Spiking experiments revealed that several orthophosphate monoester compounds contributed to the Zr-oxide DGT measurements of DRP. However, such a phenomenon is unlikely to occur during field conditions due to the low concentration of organic P in typical natural waters. The presence of Cl− (up to 106 g/L), SO2−4 (up to 16 g/L), HCO−3 (up to 817 g/L), and AsO−2 and AsO3−4 (both up to 1 mg As/L) in solutions had negligible effects on the measurement of DRP. The threshold concentrations of Cl−, SO2−4 and HCO−3 have been increased from previous reports for the measurements of DRP using other adsorbent-based DGT techniques. The capacity for DGT measurements of DRP decreased with increasing solution pH (4.2–9.2). The lowest capacity (95 μg P/cm2 at pH 9.2) was still greater than that of other DGT techniques that are usually used for the measurement of DRP (2–12 μg P/cm2). The Zr-oxide binding gel could be stored for up to 2 years without any aging effect. This period of validity was considerably longer than the ferrihydrite binding gel that is commonly used in present DGT devices (6 months). The field application revealed that the concentrations of DRP measured in three fresh water samples using the Zr-oxide DGT technique were in agreement with those of the traditional colorimetric method.