Seawater can be a difficult medium to conduct experiments in due to numerous ions present interfering with specificity. On the other hand, with respect to electrochemical analysis seawater contains its own electrolytes. This project presents the development and application of metalloporphyrin functionalized transmissive electrodes, for optical and electronic detection of key anionic analytes such as nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, and thiocyanate. Prior work with these materials demonstrated high sensitivity to thiocyanate ions in seawater, but with possible interference from nitrate ions. Herein we present analysis of chemosensory response in both synthetic seawater and Narragansett Bay seawater to these ions by cyclic voltammetry, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and surface reflectance IR spectroscopy. Five different varieties of metalloporphyrins (iron, zinc, ruthenium, cobalt, and manganese) were tested with preliminary results suggesting these materials are sensitive to nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, and thiocyanate anions in the 1-10 ppb range.<br/>

Using optoelectrochemical sensing to determine ion concentrations in surface marine environments

2019 Spring National Meeting

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