S(IV) induced autoxidation of Cu(II)/tetraglycine complexes in the presence of aldehydes: mechanistic considerations and analytical applications

An indirect amperometric method for the determination of sulfite in a flow injection configuration is described. The procedure is based on the amperometric measurement (E=0.1 V) of Cu(III) chemically generated by the S(IV) induced oxidation of Cu(II)/tetraglycine by dissolved oxygen. The dynamic analytical range was 5–100 μM with a detection limit of 1 μM. The repeatability for the determination (10 μM) was evaluated to be 1.4% (n=20). The method was employed for the determination of S(IV) in wine after its extraction from acidified samples by bubbling argon and the results were in agreement with those obtained by the iodometric procedure. The influence of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde on the Cu(III) formation is also discussed on the basis of the mechanism of the induced reaction.