Electrochemical methods for the determination of the diffusion coefficient of ionophores and ionophore-ion complexes in plasticized PVC membranes
Abstract
The diffusion coefficients of active components in ion-selective membranes have a decisive influence on the life-time and detection limit of the respective ion-selective electrodes, as well as influencing the rate of polarization and relaxation processes of electrically perturbed ion sensors. Therefore, the rational design of mass transport controlled ion-selective electrodes with sub-nanomolar detection limits requires reliable data on the diffusion coefficients. We have implemented electrochemical methods for the quantitative assessment of both the diffusion coefficients of free ionophores and ion-ionophore complexes. The diffusion coefficients of the pH-sensitive chromoionophore ETH 5294 and the calcium-selective ionophore ETH 5234 were determined in plasticized PVC membranes with different PVC to plasticizer ratios. The diffusion coefficient of the free chromoionophore determined by a chronoamperometric method was validated with optical methods for a variety of membrane compositions. The calcium-selective ionophore ETH 5234 was used as a model compound to assess the diffusion coefficient of the ion-ionophore complex calculated from the time required for the complexes to cross a freshly prepared membrane during potentiometric ion-breakthrough experiments. The difference between the diffusion coefficients of the free ionophore ETH 5234 and the ion-ionophore complex was found to be significant and correlated well with the geometry of the respective species. © The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Publication Title
Analyst
Recommended Citation
Bodor, S., Zook, J., Lindner, E., Tóth, K., & Gyurcsányi, R. (2008). Electrochemical methods for the determination of the diffusion coefficient of ionophores and ionophore-ion complexes in plasticized PVC membranes. Analyst, 133 (5), 635-642. https://doi.org/10.1039/b718110h
