Magnetic particles (Fe₃O₄) magnify ion transfer processes at the electrified liquid-liquid interface. Case study:...

This article describes the effect of non-stabilized magnetic particles Fe₃O₄ (nanoparticles aggregates) addition to the aqueous phase of the polarized liquid-liquid interface (LLI) on the interfacial ion transfer processes. LLI was formed between 1,2-dichloroethane and water solutions (1,2 DCE)|water. The synthesis of Fe₃O₄ magnetic particles (MPs) was achieved by the co-precipitation method, after which their appearance, size of aggregates, and zeta potential were assessed. All electrochemical measurements reported in this study were performed using cyclic voltammetry (CV). We evaluated the effect of pH and the presence of different concentrations of magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles aggregates always initially added to the aqueous phase on tetramethylammonium cation (TMA⁺), and 4-octylbenzenesulfonic acid (OBS^-) ion transfer. We have found that the addition of Fe₃O₄ MPs followed by their precipitation and LLI interface modification leads to pH dependent magnification of the recorded ionic currents attributed to the cation and anion transfer from the aqueous to the organic phase and vice versa. As such, we have plotted the calibration curves of TMA⁺ and OBS^- in the concentration range of (10-200 μM) revealing that Fe₃O₄ MPs have a significant effect on detection sensitivity, which is dependent on the interaction between Fe₃O₄ MPs and the analyte being studied. Finally, we assessed the electrochemical behavior of levamisole at the 1,2-dichloroethane|water interface in the presence and absence of Fe₃O₄ MPs.