Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Accuracy of the Diffusive Gradients in Thin-Films Technique: Diffusive Boundary Layer and Effective Sampling Area Considerations
AU - Warnken, Kent W.
AU - Zhang, Hao
AU - Davison, William
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - When using the diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) technique in well-stirred solutions, the diffusive boundary layer has generally been ignored on the assumption that it is negligibly thin compared to the total thickness of g, i.e., the sum of the thickness of the prefilter and diffusive gel. Deployment of devices with different diffusive layer thicknesses showed that the thickness of the DBL was ~0.23 mm in moderate to well-stirred solutions, but substantially thicker in poorly or unstirred solutions. Measurement of the distribution of Cd in the DGT resin gel at high spatial resolution (100 m) using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry showed that the effective sampling window had a larger diameter (2.20 cm) than the geometric diameter of the exposure window (2.00 cm). Lateral diffusion in the gel, which had previously been neglected, therefore increased the effective surface area of the device by ~20%. The concentrations measured by DGT agreed well with the known concentrations in standard solutions for all diffusion layer thicknesses, when the effective area and the appropriate diffusive boundary layer (DBL) were used. The extent of the error associated with neglecting the DBL and using the geometric window area depends on the gel layer thickness and the true thickness of the DBL, as determined by the deployment geometry and flow regime. When DGT measurements were made in well-stirred solutions using a 0.80-mm diffusive gel, the effect of neglecting the DBL and using the inappropriate geometric area offset each other, with the error being <±10%. For precise measurements, and especially work involving speciation or kinetic measurements, where DGT devices with different diffusive gel layer thicknesses are deployed, it is necessary to use the effective area and the appropriate DBL thickness in the full DGT equation, which allows for the use of layer-specific diffusion coefficients
AB - When using the diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) technique in well-stirred solutions, the diffusive boundary layer has generally been ignored on the assumption that it is negligibly thin compared to the total thickness of g, i.e., the sum of the thickness of the prefilter and diffusive gel. Deployment of devices with different diffusive layer thicknesses showed that the thickness of the DBL was ~0.23 mm in moderate to well-stirred solutions, but substantially thicker in poorly or unstirred solutions. Measurement of the distribution of Cd in the DGT resin gel at high spatial resolution (100 m) using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry showed that the effective sampling window had a larger diameter (2.20 cm) than the geometric diameter of the exposure window (2.00 cm). Lateral diffusion in the gel, which had previously been neglected, therefore increased the effective surface area of the device by ~20%. The concentrations measured by DGT agreed well with the known concentrations in standard solutions for all diffusion layer thicknesses, when the effective area and the appropriate diffusive boundary layer (DBL) were used. The extent of the error associated with neglecting the DBL and using the geometric window area depends on the gel layer thickness and the true thickness of the DBL, as determined by the deployment geometry and flow regime. When DGT measurements were made in well-stirred solutions using a 0.80-mm diffusive gel, the effect of neglecting the DBL and using the inappropriate geometric area offset each other, with the error being <±10%. For precise measurements, and especially work involving speciation or kinetic measurements, where DGT devices with different diffusive gel layer thicknesses are deployed, it is necessary to use the effective area and the appropriate DBL thickness in the full DGT equation, which allows for the use of layer-specific diffusion coefficients
U2 - 10.1021/ac060139d
DO - 10.1021/ac060139d
M3 - Journal article
VL - 78
SP - 3780
EP - 3787
JO - Analytical Chemistry
JF - Analytical Chemistry
SN - 0003-2700
IS - 11
ER -