Properties of Solid and Paste Amalgam Electrodes Different from Metal Mercury Electrodes

Abstract

Depending on the mercury-to-metal ratio, a liquid, paste or solid amalgam is formed. Solid and paste electrodes are more reliable and more convenient in analytical practice where manipulation with the working electrode is necessary (flow-through systems, mobile laboratories, methods based on accumulation of an analyte in one solution and measurements in another). Paste and solid amalgam working electrodes can be properly modified and/or can contain metals which interact with analyte in a different way than mercury. These characteristics of amalgam electrodes make their electrochemical applicability wider. Amalgam electrodes allow in many cases not only to substitute HMDE, but also offer new approaches which cannot be realized with mercury electrodes.