Indirect determination of free chlorine in seawater by cyclic voltammetry using graphite–epoxy composite electrode: Hydrogen adsorption capacity of graphite–epoxy composite is one–third of that of platinum

Abstract

A new possibility of indirect determination of free chlorine using a graphite–epoxy composite(GEC) electrode instead of Pt disk electrode was suggested by interpreting the relationship between the peak current of the oxidation peak for hydrogen generated through water electrolysis in CV and the amount of the free chlorine. The linear response range of concentration was 0.06–0.2 mg∙L⁻¹ with correlation coefficient of 0.9951 (n = 5) and the sensitivity of 1225 μA cm⁻² mg⁻¹ L. The limit of detection (LOD) calculated from the 3σ IUPAC criteria was 1.2 × 10⁻² mg L⁻¹. The relative standard deviation (RSD) to 0.06 mg L⁻¹ was 4.65%(n = 10). The results show that the amount of free chlorine in the disinfected seawater can be indirectly determined by using a GEC electrode without influence of interferences unlike a Pt disk electrode. On the other hand, in this paper, a new method is proposed to evaluate the relative hydrogen adsorption capacity by the sensitivity of GEC electrode compared with that of Pt disk electrode. During the investigation of the hydrogen adsorption on the surface of the working electrode, we obtained the result that the hydrogen adsorption capacity of GEC is one-third of that of platinum.