Study of interactions of concentrated marine dissolved organic matter with copper and zinc by pseudopolarography Original Research Article

The interaction of dissolved organic matter (DOM) with copper and zinc in a concentrated seawater sample was characterised by pseudopolarography. Measurements performed at increased concentrations of copper(II) ions showed successive saturation of active DOM sites which indicate possible partition of copper between (i) free or labile complexes, (ii) reduced and released within the potential window of the method, and (iii) electroinactive copper complexes. Pseudopolarograms measured at pH 4 indicate a release of copper which was bound to the active sites of DOM that formed non-labile complexes. Variation of the peak position and half-peak width along the scanned deposition potentials and with the increasing concentration of copper bear the information about the complex electrochemical processes at the electrode surface and in the bulk of the solution. Pseudopolarograms of zinc showed a strong dependence of the peak current and the peak position along the scanned deposition potentials on pH values, indicating preferentially complexation of zinc with carboxylic-like active sites of DOM in the measured sample. Pseudopolarography is a valuable method in the trace metal complexation and speciation studies, serving as a fingerprint of the analysed sample.