Dimensionally Stable Anode Based Sensor for Urea Determination via Linear Sweep Voltammetry

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Environmental Science
• Materials Science

Background:

• Urea is a valuable chemical with widespread industrial and agricultural uses.
• Environmental release of urea poses risks to ecosystem health.
• Online urea monitoring is crucial but faces challenges in sensor stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a novel indirect electroanalytical method for urea quantification.
• To explore the use of dimensionally stable anodes (DSA®) for urea sensing.
• To address the need for stable and sensitive online urea monitoring systems.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Ti/RuO2-TiO2-SnO2 dimensionally stable anode (DSA®).
• Employed an indirect electroanalytical quantification method based on active chlorine species.
• Investigated the cathodic reduction of electrogenerated HClO/ClO- species.

Main Results:

• Established a direct relationship between urea concentration and the cathodic signal.
• Achieved sensitive urea quantification with a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.83 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹.
• Demonstrated a linear quantification range from 6.66 × 10⁻⁶ to 3.33 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹.

Conclusions:

• The developed DSA®-based method offers a stable and accurate approach for online urea monitoring.
• This technique is suitable for both industrial process control and environmental monitoring applications.
• The findings highlight the potential of mixed metal oxides in electroanalytical sensing.