Scope of detection and determination of gallium(III) in industrial ground water by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry on bismuth film electrode

Gallium(III) in ground water may cause human health hazards due to the antineoplastic and antimicrobial activities of gallium. However, the exposure limit of Ga(III) has not been set. This paper demonstrates the scope of employing the square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) on bismuth film electrode (BiFE) for selective and sensitive detection of Ga(III) as well as its accurate and precise determination. The key parameters were optimized and the bismuth film morphology was characterized. The performance of BiFE was also compared with that of the mercury film electrode (MFE). The performance of BiFE was also studied for interferences of Zn(II), Cd(II), Tl(I) and Cu(II) ions. Gaussian peak fitting was performed to improve the calibration curve and the fitting process revealed almost similar stripping peak heights as obtained from the experimentally observed data though slight improvement in calibration was obtained from the peak area analysis. A good linear dynamic range (R2 = 0.996) was obtained in the concentration range of 20–100 μg/L with a limit of detection (LOD) of 6.6 μg/L (S/N = 3) of Ga(III). A relative standard deviation of 2.9% (n = 10) was obtained for 20 μg/L of Ga(III) solution. The practical analytical utility of the method was verified by the determination of Ga(III) in spiked water samples, where 100–105% recovery of Ga(III) was achieved.