Hydroxyproline adsorption on a mercury electrode in neutral solution
The adsorption of hydroxyproline (HPRO) on mercury in aqueous solutions of 10−2 M KClO4 has been determined from electrocapillary and capacity measurements. Comparison of the results obtained for HPRO with those reported for proline (PRO) shows that the presence of a hydroxyl group in the molecule has a small effect on the adsorption process. The respective values for adsorption parameters are −7 and −5 μC cm−2 for the charges of maximum adsorption, −13.0 and −10.4 kj mol−1 for the standard Gibbs energies of adsorption at zero charge, and −1.28 and +0.6 for the α parameter in the Frumkin isotherms. According to the analysis carried out for the normal component of the dipole moment of HPRO, −0.8 D, the more probable orientation of this aminoacid adsorbed on mercury is with the pyrrolidine ring parallel to the electrode surface resting the OH group away from the surface. Key words: adsorption, double layer, aminoacids, hydroxyproline.