Voltammetric methods have experienced an unpaired growth
in the field of elemental analysis in the last decades (see recent
reviews covering different fields of voltammetric analysis, [1–7]).
The possibility to exploit the richness of organometallic chemistry
and to reach subnanomolar detection limits without sample
pretreatment definitely boosted the development of a large
number of methods based on adsorptive accumulation, especially
coupled with catalytic enhancement [8,9]. The possibility to
directly determine trace element speciation is another unique
feature offered by these techniques through different detection
schemes, the two most frequently used being pseudopolarography
[10–12] and competitive ligand equilibration–cathodic stripping
voltammetry (CLE–CSV, first example in [13] and a recent review
including this procedure in [2]). Fast electronics and more efficient
scanning modes should also be mentioned as they created the
necessary conditions for the revitalization of voltammetric techniques
(see [14]) for an historical perspective)