Micro-electrodeposition in the presence of ionic liquid for the preconcentration of trace amounts of Fe, Co, Ni and Zn from aqueous samples

► A novel method of micro sample preparation for XRF analysis is proposed. ► Electrodeposition is performed using microcathode. ► A novel modification of electrodeposition method is using ionic liquid. ► The method can be combined with many techniques for multielement trace analysis.