Virtual instrumentation for stripping voltammetry on the rotating disk electrode

This paper describes a dedicated virtual instrumentation system constructed for stripping voltammetry on a rotating disk electrode (RDE) covered with a thin film of mercury. The experimental configuration consisted of a purpose-built potentiostat, a rotating disk electrode assembly and a peristaltic pump. The sequence of operations (plating of the mercury film, preconcentration of the analyte, potential scan and data acquisition, cleaning of the electrode) was under full computer control. The software programme that was selected for interfacing and control was LabVIEW 4.0. The system was configured in such a way as to perform either single measurements, a series of consecutive measurements (i.e., standard additions) or even multi-scan experiments. The analytical utility of the apparatus was assessed for the determination of Cu(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) and for the detection of Co(II) by multi-scan adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (AdCSV).