Abstract: It was found that micro amounts of oxalate showed a very strong catalytic effect on the slow reaction between K₂Cr₂O₇ and Orange Ⅳ in a diluted sulfuric acid medium in a water bath at 70 ℃. Orange Ⅳ exhibited a sensitive second-order derivative polarographic wave at -0.50 V(vs. SCE). This provides the basis for a sensitive and selective catalytic kinetic method for oxalate determination with second-order derivative oscillopolarography. The effects of sulphuric acid, K₂Cr₂O₇, and orange Ⅳ concentrations, reaction temperature and reaction time were investigated. A calibration curve of oxalate in the range of 0.1—2.0 μg/mL was obtained by the fixed-time procedure. The detection limit was 0.03 μg/ mL. The possible interference from co-existing substances or ions was examined. The new method has a high sensitivity and a good selectivity compared to other existing methods for oxalic acid determination. It has been applied to the determination of micro amounts of oxalate in real urine samples with satisfactory results.

Key words: Catalytic method, Second-order derivative polarography, Orange Ⅳ, Oxalic acid