Solid contact Zn2+ -selective electrode with low detection limit and stable and reversible potential

AbstractA new solid contact Zn2+ polyvinylchloride membrane sensor with 2-(2-Hydroxy-1-naphthylazo)-1,3,4 -thiadiazole as an ionophore has been prepared. For the electrode construction, ionic liquids, alkylmethylimidazolium chlorides are used as transducer media and as a lipophilic ionic membrane component. The addition of ionic liquid to the membrane phase was found to reduce membrane resistance and determine the potential of an internal reference Ag/AgCl electrode. The electrode with the membrane composition: ionophore: PVC: o-NPOE: ionic liquid in the percentage ratio of (wt.) 1:30:66:3, respectively, exhibited the best performance, having a slope of 29.8 mV decade−1 in the concentration range 3×10−7–1×10−1 M. The detection limit is 6.9×10−8 M. It has a fast response time of 5–7 s and exhibits stable and reproducible potential. It has a fast response time of 5–7 s and exhibits stable and reproducible potential, which does not depend on pH in the range 3.8–8.0. The proposed sensor shows a good and satisfactory selectivity towards Zn2+ ion in comparison with other cations including alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions. It was successfully applied for direct determination of zinc ions in tap water and as an indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of Zn2+ ions with EDTA.