Development of a Digestion Procedure Using Fe²⁺ ions for Electrochemical Detection of MnO₂ Particles in Drinking Water

Authors

Kayla Elliott, Department of Chemistry, Queen’s University, 90 Bader Lane, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada; Beaty Water Research Centre, Queen’s University, 69 Union St., Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
Sarah Jane Payne, Department of Civil Engineering, Queen’s University, 58 University Ave., Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada; Beaty Water Research Centre, Queen’s University, 69 Union St., Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, CanadaFollow
Zhe She, Department of Chemistry, Queen’s University, 90 Bader Lane, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada; Beaty Water Research Centre, Queen’s University, 69 Union St., Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, CanadaFollow

Corresponding Author

Zhe She (zhe.she@queensu.ca);
Sarah Jane Payne (sarahjane.payne@queensu.ca)

Abstract

Developing methods for detection contaminants in drinking water is essential to ensuring that safe and acceptable quality drinking water is delivered to consumers. While manganese (Mn) was previously known only as a mere aesthetic issue, recent epidemiological data has shown to have negative neurological effects on humans, especially on children, prompting new health-based guidelines by Health Canada and the World Health Organization. In drinking water, Mn exists predominantly as Mn(II) and Mn(IV), and is regulated based on total Mn levels. Interestingly, measurement of Mn particulate using electroanalytical methods has not yet been reported in the literature. Herein, a digestion procedure for insoluble manganese dioxide (MnO₂) using ferrous (Fe²⁺) ions was optimized in preparation for Mn detection by cyclic voltammetry (CV). Digestion conditions including concentration of Fe²⁺ ions, pH and digestion time were explored and optimized. Digestion of MnO₂ was found to be successful in both perfect and imperfect stoichiometric ratios; however, digestion was shown to be most effective in perfect stoichiometric conditions. CV proved to be an effective technique for the detection of different particulate Mn concentrations with good reproducibility using glassy carbon electrodes. According to the CV data, the detection limits of 0.3 mmol·L^–1 and 0.1 mmol·L^–1 for MnO₂ were determined after the digestion time of 4.5 h and 24 h, respectively. The digestion method, in addition to CV detection, was found to be impacted by the presences of Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions.This interference suggests that this method may offer value as a multi-plexed technique. The Mn reduction signal was found to be enhanced in the presence of Mn²⁺, indicating that this method has the potential to be used to detect soluble and insoluble Mn species simultaneously. These digestion and detection methods are simple and reproducible methods which introduce the opportunity for total Mn detection in drinking water.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Manganese, Drinking water, Cyclic voltammetry, Digestion, Manganese dioxide

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.61558/2993-074X.3572

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Date

2025-11-28

Online Available Date

2025-07-04

Revised Date

2025-06-10

Received Date

2025-04-03

Recommended Citation

Kayla Elliott, Sarah Jane Payne, Zhe She. Development of a Digestion Procedure Using Fe²⁺ ions for Electrochemical Detection of MnO₂ Particles in Drinking Water[J]. Journal of Electrochemistry, 2025 , 31(11): 2417004.
DOI: 10.61558/2993-074X.3572
Available at: https://jelectrochem.xmu.edu.cn/journal/vol31/iss11/2