Copper complexation with soluble and surface freshwaters ligands

Speciation of copper has been done using samples collected at different times of the year (December 92 and October 93) and in three sites of a polluted river (Este River, Northern Portugal). Filtered samples and the suspended particulate matter were titrated with metal ion and the labile metal concentrations measured by anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). An extra peak in the Cu voltammograms has been noticed when titrating filtered samples and its origin was investigated. Results have suggested that the extra peak is due to copper(I) stabilized by ligands adsorbed on the mercury electrode and a model for the electrochemical mechanism is proposed. From titrations of the same samples with zinc, cadmium and lead it has been concluded that there are two types of organics in the river water: macromolecules and small molecules with D-ML approximate to D-M with higher affinity for soft cations such as Cd(II) and Cu(I), that can be adsorbed on mercury electrode as anions.