Assessment of 4-Vinylbenzenesulfonate Sodium Salt and Acetonitrile as Co-Solvent in Voltammetric Quantification of Analytes in Solvent Mixtures via Background Current Reduction

The unsaturated organic salt sodium 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate was investigated by differential pulse voltammetry as an additive in non-aqueous solutions containing various organic analytes. This work focuses on alcohols, which exhibit a high background current compared with other organic solvents. This high interference prevents the voltammetric determination of the dissolved analytes, as their signals are obscured by the background current. The addition of sodium 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate significantly increased the detectability of analytes, resulting in remarkably sharper peaks. Mixtures of many organic solvents with methanol and 1-propanol showed significant differences, with acetonitrile providing the most promising results mainly due to its low viscosity and low background current. The applicability of the method was further demonstrated using a broader range of analytes.