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The vaping and electronic cigarette industries have grown impressively in the past decade. The mixtures used in these products are usually called «e-liquid», «e-fluid», or «e-juice». To ensure the quality of these e-liquids, testing the most important quality parameters, such as nicotine content, is required. Nicotine in tobacco is usually determined by gas chromatography or liquid chromatography. Aqueous acid base titration is a much more affordable alternative for this determination. As e-liquids do not contain other components which might interfere with the titration, the aqueous acid base titration presented in this Application Note can be applied for nicotine determination. This method is an affordable and reliable way to determine the nicotine content in e-liquids and their nicotine starting material, ensuring the quality of these products.

Capacitors are electronic components necessary for the success of the electronics industry. They have also become essential components of both electric and hybrid vehicles. Electrochemical tests, such as potentiostatic cyclic voltammetry, are used to check the performance of capacitors. VIONIC powered by INTELLO can perform both staircase and linear cyclic voltammetries (CV). This Application Note gives a comparison between the linear and the staircase potentiostatic cyclic voltammetries and highlights the necessity of using the linear CV to best study the performance of capacitors.

MATi 11 (MATi = Metrohm Automated Titration) is a completely configured system for water content determination in solid or liquid samples using automated volumetric Karl Fischer titration. It contains a Polytron PT 1300 D for the homogenization of the samples. Up to 53 samples are analyzed directly in 120 mL titration beakers. The samples are weighed in the titration beaker and sealed with aluminum foil and a foil holder so that they neither lose nor absorb water.

Metal-organic compounds are commonly used in organic chemistry, for example as Grignard reagents or as strong bases (e.g., butyl lithium compounds). The knowledge of the exact content of reactive species allows to better plan the required amounts for reactions preventing the waste of material or too low yields. This Application Note describes the analysis of metal organics by thermometric titration using 2-butanol as titrant. Due to the strongly exothermic nature of the reaction between 2-butanol with metal-organic compounds, a fast and quantitative analysis of these substances is possible.

The quantification of residual moisture in lyophilized pharmaceutical peptides is an important measure for quality control in the pharmaceutical industry. For development purposes, such measurements are necessary and routinely performed during stability studies and to optimize the freeze-drying process (lyophilization). Currently, Karl Fischer titration is widely used for moisture determination in routine analysis. However, this method is time consuming and destroys the sample during analysis. This Application Note shows that near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a fast, reagentless, non-destructive method to determine moisture content in lyophilized pharmaceutical products.

The water content of coal dust is determined according to Karl Fischer. Because of the low water content of the voluminous sample, the oven method (nitrogen, 270 °C) and coulometric titration have to be used.

Determination of chloride, nitrite, nitrate, and sulfate in betaine using anion chromatography with conductivity detection after chemical suppression.

A high throughput automated system was developed to determine pH of culture media using a pH module equipped with an external flow cell. A custom septum-piercing, vented needle was developed to accommodate the shape and size of the customer sample vials. For this application, both accurate and precise pH measurements were required. The data presented in this document was collected by a customer as a part of their validation process and was provided for use with their consent.

The present Application Bulletin contains NIR applications and feasibility studies for NIRSystems devices in the chemical industry. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of a wide variety of samples are part of this bulletin. Each application describes the instrument that was originally used for the analysis, as well as the system recommended for the analysis and the results that were achieved thereby.

NIR spectroscopy has been traditionally limited due to the water absorption in this spectral range. In this way, the well-known water restriction has limited the development of new applications for NIR spectroelectrochemistry. In this work, several interesting alternatives are proposed in order to minimize or even to remove the aqueous contribution in this spectral range.

Propylene oxide (PO) is a major industrial product used in assorted industrial applications, mainly for the production of polyols (the building blocks for polyurethane plastics). Several production methods exist, with and without co-products. This white paper lays out opportunities to optimize PO production for safer and more efficient processes, higher quality products, and substantial time savings by using online process analysis instead of laboratory measurements.

Underestimation of quality control (QC) processes is one of the major factors leading to internal and external product failure, which have been reported to cause a loss of turnover between 10–30%. As a result, many different norms are put in place to support manufacturers with their QC process. However, time to result and the associated costs for chemicals can be quite excessive, leading many companies to implement near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in their QC process. This paper illustrates the potential of NIRS and displays cost saving potentials up to 90%.

Ion measurement can be conducted in several different ways, e.g., ion chromatography (IC), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), or atom absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Each of these are well-established, widely used methods in analytical laboratories. However, the initial costs are relatively high. In contrast, ion measurement by the use of an ion-selective electrode (ISE) is a promising alternative to these costly techniques. This White Paper explains the challenges which may be encountered when applying standard addition or direct measurement, and how to overcome them in order for analysts to gain more confidence with this type of analysis.

The coupling of ion chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) leads to a high-performance measurement system that masters several particularly challenging analyses. It enables for example reliable determination of element compositions, oxidation states and chemical bonds. This information is used, for example, for assessing the toxicity of medications, environmental and water samples as well as foods and beverages.

Electrochemical measurements utilizing a rotating cylinder electrode (RCE) are widely used in industrial corrosion applications when simulation of realistic pipe conditions are necessary in a lab environment. This white paper allows further insight into the particularities and parameters which govern the electrochemical measurements, in particular measurements performed in turbulent flow conditions, and shows a complete picture of the best practice use of this technique. The annexes provide an overview and short explanation of the parameters and laws specific to the fluid behavior in electrochemical cells with RCE.

In this White Paper, details of the electronic (PGSTAT) and electrochemical cell grounding are presented together with the necessity of using a floating PGSTAT for different application and experimental examples. Due to the wide variation of experimental requirements and kinds of electrochemical cells, the use of an electrochemical instrument with a selectable floating feature (such as VIONIC) which brings additional versatility to the user is recommended.

The fermentation of corn starch to produce ethanol is a complex biochemical process that requires monitoring of many different parameters (e.g., solids, pH, sugar profile, glycerol, lactic and acetic acid, and water and ethanol content). Traditional laboratory analysis using primary methods (e.g. Karl Fischer titration) takes about an hour to complete and is a limiting step for increasing plant capacity and efficiency. As a fast and non-destructive analytical technique, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can replace routine laboratory analysis, decreasing operating costs and increasing plant efficiency and capacity. This White Paper describes the capabilities of the modern analytical method near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for monitoring and improving the fermentation process of corn to ethanol.

Chromate is allergenic, carcinogenic and extremely toxic. It is therefore subject to strict monitoring. It is present in different concentrations in drinking water, toys, textiles, leather and many other materials. Metrohm has developed various methods for ion chromatographic determination of chromium(VI) which, thanks to Inline Sample Preparation, are suitable for a variety of matrices and concentration ranges – from ng/L to mg/L.

Automated determination of the zirconium content of zirconium acetate, as well as other zirconium compounds which can be rendered soluble as zirconium acetate.

Determination of lithium, sodium, ammonium, zinc, potassium, magnesium, and calcium impurities in syringe filters using cation chromatography with direct conductivity detection.

Chipped wood and sawdust may be used in production of feed e.g., for ruminants. Melamine, a raw material for resins in wood adhesives, is limited to be used in feed. Therefore, the melamine concentration in sawdust has to be analyzed. Melamine determined after ion chromatographic separation with UV/VIS detection.

Determination of the water content of liquid ammonia according to Karl Fischer after absorption of the water in ethylene glycol.

The vaping and electronic cigarette industries are growing. The mixtures used in these products are usually called e-liquid, e-fluid, or e-juice. Toensure the quality of these e-liquids, testing the most important parameters is required. One important quality control parameter is water or moisture content. Water/moisture content determination by Karl Fischer titration (KFT) is an established and reliable procedure. Compared to other methods the advantages of KFT are its accuracy, speed, and selectivity. For high water content samples, such as e-liquids, volumetric KFT is the method of choice. In this Application Note a system for the fast and reliable determination of the water content in E-liquids is presented. This fully automated system performs the analysis including system preparation, blank, titer, and sample determination completely unattended. Hence, the workload of the operator is reduced to only weighing in the sample and placing the sealed sample vessels on the system.

Large sample sizes can lead to subtraction of too high blank values. This Application Note describes the calculation of a relative blank and thus helps to improve the accuracy of the method.

Determination of diethylamine and trimethylamine using cation chromatography with MS detection.

Chromate (Cr(VI)) is considered toxic and potentially carcinogenic, which is why its concentrations in children's toys should be kept as low as possible. The EU directive 2009/48/EC defines limit values for the migration of chromate from children's toys. The hydrochloric-acid-containing migration solution is diluted with a buffer. 2000 μL of this solution are injected automatically using intelligent preconcentration technology and matrix elimination. Detection takes place via ICP/MS.

The FOS/TAC value is an important characteristic to assess the status of the fermenter before costly problems arise. The new Eco Titrator from Metrohm allows the determination of this quotient in a fast, cost-efficient, and precise way.

Halides interfere with most determinations of mercury or silver. However, if mercury or silver is titrated with sulfide ions, extremely insoluble sulfides are formed. A simple method is described that allows the direct titration of mercury(II) or silver(I) compounds in the presence of halides. The potentiometric titration takes place under alkaline conditions using thioacetamide as the titrant after formation of the EDTA complex. Organic compounds that are insoluble in alkaline EDTA can also be titrated after a Schoeniger digestion.

This Application Bulletin provides information regarding the MATi 10 (Metrohm Automated Titration) system. MATi 10 is a completely configured system for automatic volumetric Karl Fischer titration with which the water content in liquid and solid samples can be determined. Up to 24 samples can be analyzed directly in 75 mL titration vessels. The samples are weighed into the titration vessels and covered with an aluminum foil. This prevents falsification of the water content.

Tartaric Sulfuric Anodizing (TSA) is an established technique for corrosion protection in the aerospace industry. It is an alternative to the environmentally harmful chromic anodizing process. As such, a method to monitor the levels of sulfuric acid and tartaric acid in TSA plating baths is required. Potentiometric titration methods have been developed, and are widely used across the industry. Their disadvantage is that two titrations with different electrodes and solvents are required. In this Application Note, an alternative method is presented, where the concentration of both acids is determined in sequence using a thermometric sensor. Compared to potentiometric titration, thermometric titration is faster and more convenient (no sensor maintenance required). On a fully automated system, the determination of both parameters takes about 7 minutes.

This Application Note describes a fast method for the simultaneous quantification of nicotine and glycerin in liquid mixtures used for electronic cigarettes. With visible near infrared spectroscopy (VIS-NIRS), results are available without sample preparation, thus making VIS-NIRS highly suited for fast quality control.

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used as an analysis method for quality control of aqueous xanthan gum solutions. Quantitative models for the determination of optical density, glucose, and xanthan gum were developed, enabling fast and reliable quality control.

Determination of sodium, ammonium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium in betaine using cation chromatography with direct conductivity detection.

This Application Note shows the determination of glucose and galactose in a 2% solution of lactose. The separation is achieved on a Hamilton RCX-30 - 250/4.6 applying pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) at a gold electrode. Instrument control, data acquisition, and data handling is done by Empower 3.0 using the Metrohm IC Driver 2.0 for Empower.

Determination of chloride and sulfate in an electrolyte used in sensors for transcutaneous CO2 measurement using anion chromatography with conductivity detection after chemical suppression.

Determination of fluoride, formate, chloride, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, sulfate, oxalate, and molybdate in a coolant using anion chromatography with conductivity detection after chemical suppression and Metrohm Inline Dialysis.

Ionic liquids, also denominated as «designer solvents», are organic salts that are liquid at low temperatures. They are powerful solvents, conduct the electric current, and are therefore used in many applications. Anions, in particular halogenides, are common byproducts in the manufacturing of ionic liquids. Therefore, their concentration has to be controlled.

Determination of fluoride, acetate, formate, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate impurities in syringe filters using anion chromatography with conductivity detection after sequential suppression.

Determination of iodate, chlorite, bromate, and nitrite using suppressed anion chromatography with UV/VIS detection after post-column reaction.

Chromate (Cr(VI)) is regarded as being carcinogenic, mutagenic and damaging to DNA, which is why Cr(VI) concentrations are to be kept as low as possible. The EU Toy Safety Directive 2018/725 defines migration limit values for the release of chromate from toys. The "HCl migration solutions" are diluted with a buffer before 2,000 µL are injected via Metrohm intelligent Preconcentration Technique with Matrix Elimination (MiPCT-ME). Determination is performed with VIS detection following derivatization with diphenylcarbazide.

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is regarded as being toxic and potentially carcinogenic. Its concentration in drinking water should therefore be kept as low as possible. The determination of Cr(VI) is performed using ion chromatography. The separation takes place on the Metrosep A Supp 10 - 250/2.0 separation column. The presence of Cr(VI) is determined photometrically following post-column reaction (PCR) with diphenylcarbazide.

The concentration of Pd in an activator bath is determined by polarography in ammonium chloride electrolyte.

Rapid inline monitoring of the major SC1/SC2 bath constituents is possible with reagent-free near-infrared spectroscopy, e.g., the 2060 The NIR-R Analyzer.

The relative permittivity εr, also known as dielectric constant, is of great importance in materials characterization. It can be defined as the ratio between the amount of electrical energy stored in a material and the amount of electrical energy stored in a vacuum. One of the easiest way to obtain the relative permittivity is to calculate it from capacitance values. In this Application Note, five techniques to retrieve capacity values have been compared.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a powerful technique which provides information about the processes occurring at the electrode-electrolyte interface. The data collected with EIS are modeled with a suitable electrical equivalent circuit. The fitting procedure will change the values of the parameters until the mathematical function matches the experimental data within a certain margin of error. In this Application Note, some suggestions are given in order to get acceptable initial parameters and to perform an accurate fitting.

When current flows through an electrochemical cell, a potential drop between the RE and the WE occurs. This voltage drop is influenced by the electrolyte conductivity, the distance between the reference and the working electrodes, and the magnitude of the current. This application note gives a basic explanation of the Ohmic drop, its causes and the impact on measurements.

A reference electrode has a stable and well-defined electrochemical potential (at constant temperature), against which the applied or measured potentials in an electrochemical cell are referred. A good reference electrode is therefore stable and non-polarizable. In other words, the potential of such an electrode will remain stable in the used environment and also upon the passage of a small current. This application note lists the most used reference electrodes, together with their range of use.

Convolution voltammetry consists essentially of a voltammetric, chronoamperometric, or chronocoulometric experiment followed by a mathematical transformation - convolution. Using a convolution method, the effect of the decrease of the concentration gradient can be eliminated from the total response of the electrode. This application note explains how the convolution in NOVA works.

The operational behavior of a fuel cell stack is usually evaluated by determining the polarization and power density curves of the cell. These curves provide a quick characterization of the stack performance and an assessment of its optimal operating conditions (temperature, humidity, electrocatalyst, ion-exchange membrane).

The mass transport characteristics of the diffusion controlled oxidation and reduction of the ferri/ferro cyanide couple was studied using the Autolab RDE with a low noise liquid Hg contact.