Thinly insulated wire cells -: A new device for sensitive contactless conductivity detection in flow analyses

Very simple contactless conductivity cells have been designed, suitable for detection in flow analytical techniques (classical HPLC, FIA, SIA, continuous flow, etc.) in which this detection has so far rarely been used. The cells consist of two wire electrodes covered with a very thin layer (units of mu m) of an insulating material (the dielectric) and punctured through the walls of a plastic tubing at a close mutual distance (from tenths to units of a mm) and placed either across the tube or along the tube axis, so that the detection occurs within the space limited by the two electrodes. As the thickness of the dielectric layer is substantially smaller than that in common contactless conductivity cells used in CE, the AC current flowing between the electrodes is higher and the measuring sensitivity is enhanced. The principal operational characteristics of these detectors have been tested using KCl solutions and compared with those calculated from a simple theoretical model. It has been shown that this model permits theoretical description of these cell types and reasonable prediction of their behavior. Practical application has been demonstrated on a FIA determination of inorganic carbonate.