Ionic transfer is the transfer of ions from one liquid phase to another. This is related to the
phase transfer catalyst
In chemistry, a phase-transfer catalyst or PTC is a catalyst that facilitates the transition of a reactant from one phase into another phase where reaction occurs. Phase-transfer catalysis is a special form of heterogeneous catalysis. Ionic ...
s which are a special type of
liquid-liquid extraction which is used in
synthetic Synthetic things are composed of multiple parts, often with the implication that they are artificial. In particular, 'synthetic' may refer to:
Science
* Synthetic chemical or compound, produced by the process of chemical synthesis
* Synthetic o ...
chemistry.
For instance
nitrate
Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are soluble in water. An example of an insoluble ...
anion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...
s can be transferred between water and
nitrobenzene
Nitrobenzene is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5 NO2. It is a water-insoluble pale yellow oil with an almond-like odor. It freezes to give greenish-yellow crystals. It is produced on a large scale from benzene as a precursor ...
. One way to observe this is to use a
cyclic voltammetry
Cyclic voltammetry (CV) is a type of potentiodynamic electrochemical measurement. In a cyclic voltammetry experiment, the working electrode potential is ramped linearly versus time. Unlike in linear sweep voltammetry, after the set potential is ...
experiment where the liquid-liquid interface is the working
electrode
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or air). Electrodes are essential parts of batteries that can consist of a variety of materials ...
. This can be done by placing secondary electrodes in each phase and close to interface each phase has a
reference electrode
A reference electrode is an electrode which has a stable and well-known electrode potential. The high stability of the electrode potential is usually reached by employing a redox system with constant (buffered or saturated) concentrations of each ...
. One phase is attached to a potentiostat
Potentiostats - Their Care and Feeding
which is set to zero volts, while the other potentiostat
A potentiostat is the electronic hardware required to control a three electrode cell and run most electroanalytical experiments. A ''Bipotentiostat'' and ''polypotentiostat'' are potentiostats capable of controlling two working electrodes and ...
is driven with a triangular wave. This experiment is known as a polarised Interface between Two Immiscible Electrolyte Solutions (ITIES
In electrochemistry, ITIES (interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions) is an electrochemical interface that is either polarisable or polarised. An ITIES is polarisable if one can change the Galvani potential difference, or in other wo ...
) experiment.
See also
* Diffusion potential
Liquid junction potential (shortly LJP) occurs when two solutions of electrolytes of different concentrations are in contact with each other. The more concentrated solution will have a tendency to diffuse into the comparatively less concentrated o ...
References
{{Reflist
Physical chemistry
Ions