Electrochemical behavior of K₃Fe(CN)₆ in water-in-oil microemulsion

Abstract

A water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion composed of Triton X-100, n-hexanol, n-hexane and water solution with hydrochloric acid was prepared. K₃Fe(CN)₆ was added in as a water-soluble electroactive probe, and its electrochemical behavior was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It is found that the H⁺ concentration of the water phase has a great effect on the conductivity of the W/O microemulsion, and hence influences the electrochemical behavior of K₃Fe(CN)₆. When the pH value of water phase is about 7, the electrical conductivity of the W/O microemulsion is only 1.2×10⁻⁶ S/cm, and K₃Fe(CN)₆ almost cannot react at the glassy carbon electrode. But when the H⁺ concentration is more than 3 mol/L, the W/O microemulsion has a good electrical conductivity and K₃Fe(CN)₆ shows good electrochemical performance in it. The results of CV and EIS studies indicate that the electrochemical behavior of Fe(CN)₆³⁻/Fe(CN)₆⁴⁻ in the W/O microemulsion is different from that in the aqueous solution. This may be due to the unique liquid structure of the W/O microemulsion and the unique mass transfer in the W/O microemulsion.

Keywords

K₃Fe(CN)₆ / electrochemical behavior / W/O microemulsion / electrical conductivity