A simple and rapid method for measuring dissolved oxygen in waters with gold microelectrode

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is an essential indicator in chemical, biological and biochemical processes and needs to be rapidly measured in many cases. In this work, a rapid, sensitive and simple electrochemical method, first derivative linear sweep voltammetry (FD-LSV), was established for the determination of DO. The peak height of FD-LSV was found to be influenced by scan rate and microelectrode surface area. An empirical formula was proposed to describe the relationship between the FD-LSV peak height and the influencing factors. Compared with other electrochemical methods for DO determination, the FD-LSV method needed lesser time and was more accurate. This method was successfully applied for the determination of the DO levels of various environmental water samples.