Nickel
Nickel is commonly used by the electroplating industry in processes utilizing stainless steel, cobalt, or nickel alloys. By using nickel in certain alloys, manufacturers can achieve a product that is highly resistant to chemical stress and exhibits a longer lifespan. Nickel is an essential trace element that is essential for biological processes in livestock health and production. Nickel is also used in batteries, fuel cells, and hydrogenation of vegetable oils in the food industry.
Nickel can be measured photometrically with reagents. Photometric analysis is based on the Beer-Lambert principle of absorbance in which the intensity of the color produced is proportional to the concentration of nickel in the sample. Photometric analysis products include handheld colorimeters, portable and benchtop photometers, and spectrophotometers.
Titration methods are also available to measure nickel using a copper ISE and copper EDTA.
Titration
Titration systems with precision dosing pumps are available to measure nickel. These systems can use a copper (cupric) ISE to determine the endpoint of a complexometric titration with EDTA for nickel.
Solutions
Solutions for nickel measurement include the CAL Check standards for verifying and, if needed, the calibration of portable photometers. Each CAL Check standard is supplied with a Certificate of Analysis stating the accuracy and traceability of the standard.
Accessories
Accessories include cuvette cleaning solution, microfiber cloths, and replacement cuvettes and caps for photometers.
Checker HC
Checker HC are reagent-based handheld colorimeters, like portable and benchtop instrumentation, that use the Beer-Lambert principle to determine the color change that occurs with nickel in the sample.
Portable Photometers
Portable photometers are available to measure nickel. The portable photometers have a CAL Check feature that allows for performance verification and if needed, recalibration using the CAL Check standards. The portable meters are available as a meter only option or as a kit. The kit version include a rugged carrying case and CAL Check standards.
Benchtop Photometers
Benchtop photometers include multiparameter versions for water quality, wastewater, and environmental analysis. Each photometer is customized to have the parameters used by a specific industry. All benchtop have a digital pH electrode input allowing it to be used as a traditional pH meter.
Spectrophotometers
Spectrophotometers are available that have a nickel method pre-programmed into the meter. The spectrophotometer offers the highest precision due to the quality of the optical system that has a wavelength accuracy of +/- 1.5 nm. The spectrophotometer allows for custom methods and can display nickel results in a variety of chemical forms and units of measure.
Reagents
Reagents include the reagents used with Checker HC and photometers.
Electrodes & Probes
Potentiometric titration systems can use a copper ISE for the titration of nickel by adding a small amount of copper EDTA (CuEDTA)to the sample. EDTA is then used as a titrant to react with free copper ions displaced by nickel in the solution. When this happens, the activity of the copper ion drastically decreases, which is detected by the cupric ISE. The use of a titration system allows for a precision measurement that can be automated for multiple measurements.
The copper ISE is available as either a single half-cell or combination design that is complete with a reference cell.