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Estimation of diffusive boundary layer thickness in studies involving diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT)

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Abstract

Recent laboratory experiments and field investigations involving diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) have shown that the thickness (δ) of the diffusive boundary layer (DBL), which can affect the accuracy of the technique, is generally not negligible. Accordingly, the determination of δ has become a matter of considerable practical importance. Though the problem has been addressed in the recent literature, there is room for some improvement. An expression for estimation of δ is presented here, and a practical procedure for determining δ and the concentration of DGT-labile species from sparse experimental data is proposed and illustrated by analyzing data from four experiments with DGT samplers of different diffusive gel thicknesses.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Notes

  1. Warnken et al. [3] include only one area, A s , in their Eq. (4). Values of δ determined from Eq. (7) in the present work will therefore be a fraction (A g /A s ) smaller than if determined from Eq. (4) in Warnken et al., but estimates of C b will be the same.

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Acknowledgment

We thank Kent Warnken for assistance with the ICP-MS analysis, and William Davison and Hao Zhang for their constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Ø. A. Garmo & E. Steinnes

  2. Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    K. Razi Naqvi

  3. Norwegian Institute for Water Research, P.O. Box 173, 0411, Oslo, Norway

    O. Røyset

Authors
  1. Ø. A. Garmo
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  2. K. Razi Naqvi
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  3. O. Røyset
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  4. E. Steinnes
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Correspondence to Ø. A. Garmo.

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Garmo, Ø.A., Naqvi, K.R., Røyset, O. et al. Estimation of diffusive boundary layer thickness in studies involving diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT). Anal Bioanal Chem 386, 2233–2237 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-006-0885-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-006-0885-4

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