Nafion Coated Electrodes as Voltammetric Sensors for Iron Analysis in Sediments and Pore Waters: an Example from the Lagoon of Venice

Glassy carbon electrodes coated with Nafion are used for the ion-exchange voltammetric (IEV) determination of Fe(II) in the pore-waters and acidic extracts of sediments of the lagoon of Venice (Italy). The coated electrodes give reversible voltammetric signals, well resolved from background currents, which can be used for quantitative determinations. The yield of iron extracted by HCl from the sediment depends on the experimental conditions, in particular on the concentration of hydrochloric acid. By combining IEV on the acid extract with trapping and analysis of gaseous H2S evolved it is possible to obtain quantitative information both on the total content of iron dissolved by the acid attack and on the fraction of iron present in the form of acid volatile sulphides (AVS). As far as pore-waters are concerned, in this kind of samples the IEV determination of iron can be performed simply after dilution with HCl. The pore-waters here examined were sampled without alteration of their equilibrium conditions by using a suitable “in situ” sampler. IEV data obtained in samples from the lagoon of Venice (Italy) show satisfactory correlation with previous results obtained using different analytical techniques.