Ion-Selective Electrodes with Solid Contact Based on Composite Materials: A Review

A Multichannel Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode Based on Fluorinated Poly(3-octylthiophene-2,5-diyl) and Purified Mesoporous Carbon Black Simultaneously Detects Na+, K+, Ca2+, and NO2. ACS OMEGA 2024;9:18238-18248. [PMID: 38680364 PMCID: PMC11044230 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c10471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0]

Preparation of nanocomposites based on fluorinated poly(3-octylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (POTF) and purified mesoporous carbon black (PMCB) as the solid-contact layer of a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) is proposed. POTF is used as a dispersant for PMCB. The obtained nanocomposites possess unique characteristics including high conductivity, capacitance, and stability. The SPCE based on POTF and PMCB is characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronopotentiometry, demonstrating simultaneous detection of Na+, K+, Ca2+, and NO2- ions with detection limits of 10-6.5, 10-6.4, 10-6.7, and 10-6.3 M, respectively. Water layer and anti-interference tests revealed that the electrode has high hydrophobicity, and the static contact angle is >140°. The electrode shows excellent selectivity, repeatability, reproducibility, and stability and is not easily affected by light, O2, or CO2.

Recent Progress on Potentiometric Sensor Applications Based on Nanoscale Metal Oxides: A Comprehensive Review

Electrochemical sensors have been the subject of much research and development as of late, with several publications detailing new designs boasting enhanced performance metrics. That is, without a doubt, because such sensors stand out from other analytical tools thanks to their excellent analytical characteristics, low cost, and ease of use. Their progress has shown a trend toward seeking out novel useful nano structure materials. A variety of nanostructure metal oxides have been utilized in the creation of potentiometric sensors, which are the subject of this article. For screen-printed pH sensors, metal oxides have been utilized as sensing layers due to their mixed ion-electron conductivity and as paste-ion-selective electrode components and in solid-contact electrodes. Further significant uses include solid-contact layers. All the metal oxide uses mentioned are within the purview of this article. Nanoscale metal oxides have several potential uses in the potentiometry method, and this paper summarizes such uses, including hybrid materials and single-component layers. Potentiometric sensors with outstanding analytical properties can be manufactured entirely from metal oxides. These novel sensors outperform the more traditional, conventional electrodes in terms of useful characteristics. In this review, we looked at the potentiometric analytical properties of different building solutions with various nanoscale metal oxides.

Exploiting of Green Synthesized Metal Oxide Nanoparticles in the Potentiometric Determination of Metformin Hydrochloride in Pharmaceutical Products

The advanced and highly functional properties of Al2O3 and NiO nanoparticles promote the widespread use of metal oxides as remarkable electroactive materials for sensing and electrochemical applications. The proposed study describes a comparison of the sensitivity and selectivity of two modified wire membrane sensors enriched with Al2O3 and NiO nanoparticles with conventional wire membranes for the quantification of the antidiabetic drug metformin hydrochloride (MTF). The results show linear relationships of the enriched Al2O3 and NiO nanosensors over the concentration ranges 1.0 × 10-10-1.0 × 10-2 mol L-1 and 1.0 × 10-6-1.0 × 10-2 M for both the modified sensors and the conventional coated wire membrane sensors. The regression equations were EmV = (52.1 ± 0.5) log (MTF) + 729 for enriched nanometallic oxides, EmV = (57.04 ± 0.4) log (MTF) + 890.66, and EmV = (58.27 ± 0.7) log (MTF) + 843.27 with correlation coefficients of 0.9991, 0.9997, and 0.9998 for the aforementioned sensors, respectively. The proposed method was fully validated with respect to the recommendations of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The newly functionalized sensors have been successfully used for the determination of MTF in its commercial products.

Application of ionic liquids in ion-selective electrodes and reference electrodes: A review

Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic chemical compounds that are composed only of ions, a large organic cation and a smaller inorganic or organic anion. These are salts whose melting point is lower than the boiling point of water. ILs have many interesting properties, thanks to which they find great practical applications in analytics, electrochemistry, separation techniques, catalysis and others. One of the many areas of application of ionic liquids is sensors especially electrochemical sensors including ion-selective electrodes. In this case, the properties of ILs that are particularly useful include very good electrical conductivity, high electrochemical stability, good extraction properties, hydrophobic character and compatibility with other materials, e. g. polyvinyl chloride plasticizers or carbon nanomaterials. ILs were used as components of ion-selective membranes, both polymeric ones based on PVC and membranes in carbon paste electrodes. ILs performed various functions in these membranes, including lipophilic ionic additive, ionophore/ion exchanger, plasticizer, transducer media and matrix. They were also used as a component of the intermediate layer in solid contact ISEs. The last chapter presents examples of the use of ILs in reference electrodes. This review discusses the use of ionic liquids in ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) and reference electrodes over the last ten years.

Selective and Accurate Detection of Nitrate in Aquaculture Water with Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Using Gold Nanoparticles Decorated with β-Cyclodextrins

A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) method for measuring nitrate nitrogen in aquaculture water was developed using a substrate of β-cyclodextrin-modified gold nanoparticles (SH-β-CD@AuNPs). Addressing the issues of low sensitivity, narrow linear range, and relatively poor selectivity of single metal nanoparticles in the SERS detection of nitrate nitrogen, we combined metal nanoparticles with cyclodextrin supramolecular compounds to prepare a AuNPs substrate enveloped by cyclodextrin, which exhibits ultra-high selectivity and Raman activity. Subsequently, vanadium(III) chloride was used to convert nitrate ions into nitrite ions. The adsorption mechanism between the reaction product benzotriazole (BTAH) of o-phenylenediamine (OPD) and nitrite ions on the SH-β-CD@AuNPs substrate was studied through SERS, achieving the simultaneous detection of nitrate nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen. The experimental results show that BTAH exhibits distinct SERS characteristic peaks at 1168, 1240, 1375, and 1600 cm-1, with the lowest detection limits of 3.33 × 10-2, 5.84 × 10-2, 2.40 × 10-2, and 1.05 × 10-2 μmol/L, respectively, and a linear range of 0.1-30.0 μmol/L. The proposed method provides an effective tool for the selective and accurate online detection of nitrite and nitrate nitrogen in aquaculture water.

Ion-Electron Transduction Layer of the SnS2-MoS2 Heterojunction to Elevate Superior Interface Stability for All-Solid Sodium-Ion Selective Electrode

The high selectivity and fast ion response of all-solid sodium ion selective electrodes were widely applied in human sweat analysis. However, the potential drift due to insufficient interfacial capacitance leads to the deterioration of its stability and ultimately affects the potential accuracy of ion analysis. Designing a novel ion-electron transduction layer between the electrode and the ion selective membrane is an effective method to stabilize the interfacial potential. Herein, the SnS2-MoS2 heterojunction material was constructed by doping Sn in MoS2 nanosheets and used as the ion electron transduction layers of an all-solid sodium ion selective electrode for the first time, achieving the stable and efficient detection of Na+ ions. The proposed electrode exhibited a Nernst slope of 57.86 mV/dec for the detection of Na+ ions with a detection limit of 10-5.7 M in the activity range of 10-6-10-1 M. Via the electronic interaction at the heterojunction interfaces between SnS2 and MoS2 materials, the micro-nanostructure of the SnS2-MoS2 heterojunction was changed and SnS2-MoS2 as the ion-electron transduction layer acquired excellent capacitance (699 μF) and hydrophobicity (132°), resulting in a long-term potential stability of 1.37 μV/h. It was further proved that the large capacitance and high hydrophobicity of the ion-electron transduction layer are primary reasons for the excellent stability of the all-solid sodium ion selective electrode toward Na+ ions.

Cation-Selective Actuator-Sensor Response of Microcrystalline Cellulose Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes of Different Electrolytes Using Propylene Carbonate Solvent

Microcrystalline cellulose (MC) with 50 wt.% multi-walled carbon nanotube (MCNT) composites is obtained through extrusion, forming MC-MCNT fiber. In this study, we concentrate on three different electrolytes in propylene carbonate (PC) which have the same anions (TF-, trifluoro-methanesulfonate CF3SO3-) but different cations, EDMI+ (1-ethyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium), Li+ (lithium ion), and TBA+ (tetrabutylammonium). Cyclic voltammetry and square wave potential steps, in combination with linear actuation measurements in a potential range of 0.7 V to -0.2 V, were conducted. Our goal in this work was to establish a cation-selective actuator-sensor device capable of distinguishing different cations. The linear actuation of MC-MCNT fiber had its main expansion at discharge due to the incorporation of TF- in the MC-MCNT fiber with the cations. In the following order, TBA+ > EDMI+ > Li+ had the best stress, strain, charge density, diffusion coefficients, and long-term stability. Chronopotentiometric measurements revealed that the cations in the PC solvent can be differentiated by their ion sizes. Further characterization of the MC-MCNT fiber was completed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and FTIR and Raman spectroscopy.

Effect of Ion Identity on Capacitance and Ion-to-Electron Transduction in Ion-Selective Electrodes with Nanographite and Carbon Nanotube Solid Contacts

The use of large surface area carbon materials as transducers in solid-contact ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) has become widespread. Desirable qualities of ISEs, such as a small long-term drift, have been associated with a high capacitance that arises from the formation of an electrical double layer at the interface of the large surface area carbon material and the ion-selective membrane. The capacitive properties of these ISEs have been observed using a variety of techniques, but the effects of the ions present in the ion-selective membrane on the measured value of the capacitance have not been studied in detail. Here, it is shown that changes in the size and concentration of the ions in the ion-selective membrane as well as the polarity of the polymeric matrix result in capacitances that can vary by up to several hundred percent. These data illustrate that the interpretation of comparatively small differences in capacitance for different types of solid contacts is not meaningful unless the composition of the ion-selective membrane is taken into account.

Poly(vinyl chloride)/Nanocarbon Composites for Advanced Potentiometric Membrane Sensor Design

Polymer nanocomposites filled with carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) are a hot topic in materials science. This article discusses the current research on the use of these materials as interfacial electron transfer films for solid contact potentiometric membrane sensors (SC-PMSs). The results of a comparative study of plasticized poly (vinyl chloride) (pPVC) matrices modified with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), fullerenes-C60, and their hybrid ensemble (SWCNTs-C60) are reported. The morphological characteristics and electrical conductivity of the prepared nanostructured composite films are reported. It was found that the specific electrical conductivity of the pPVC/SWCNTs-C60 polymer film was higher than that of pPVC filled with individual nanocomponents. The effectiveness of this composite material as an electron transfer film in a new potentiometric membrane sensor for detecting phenylpyruvic acid (in anionic form) was demonstrated. Screening for this metabolic product of phenylalanine in body fluids is of significant diagnostic interest in phenylketonuria (dementia), viral hepatitis, and alcoholism. The developed sensor showed a stable and fast Nernstian response for phenylpyruvate ions in aqueous solutions over the wide linear concentration range of 5 × 10-7-1 × 10-3 M, with a detection limit of 10-7.2 M.

A Novel Polymeric Membrane Sensor for Chlorhexidine Determination

In the present work, potentiometric sensors with polymer membranes used for chlorhexidine (CHXD) determination were developed. The polymer membranes were plasticized with bis(2-ethylheksyl)sebacate (DOS) or 2-nitrophenyloctyl ether (o-NPOE). The active compounds used in the membrane were cyclodextrins, crown ethers, and ion exchangers. The best-constructed electrode was based on neutral heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-benzoyl)-β-cyclodextrin with lipophilic salt (KTpClBP)-potassium tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl) borate-dissolved in plasticizer, DOS. The presented electrode is characterized by an average cationic slope of 30.9 ± 2.9 mV decade-1 within a linear range of 1 × 10-6 to 1 × 10-3 mol × L-1, while the value of the correlation coefficient is 0.9970 ± 0.0026. The response time was about 5 s when increasing the sample concentration and about 10 s when diluting the sample. The electrode potential is independent of the pH within a range of 4.0-9.5. The polymeric membrane sensor was successfully applied for assays of chlorhexidine digluconate in pure samples and pharmaceutical samples. The relative error from three replicate measurements was determined to be 1.1%. and the accuracy was RSD = 0.3-1.1%.

New Materials Used for the Development of Anion-Selective Electrodes-A Review

Ion-selective electrodes are a popular analytical tool useful in the analysis of cations and anions in environmental, industrial and clinical samples. This paper presents an overview of new materials used for the preparation of anion-sensitive ion-selective electrodes during the last five years. Design variants of anion-sensitive electrodes, their advantages and disadvantages as well as research methods used to assess their parameters and analytical usefulness are presented. The work is divided into chapters according to the type of ion to which the electrode is selective. Characteristics of new ionophores used as the electroactive component of ion-sensitive membranes and other materials used to achieve improvement of sensor performance (e.g., nanomaterials, composite and hybrid materials) are presented. Analytical parameters of the electrodes presented in the paper are collected in tables, which allows for easy comparison of different variants of electrodes sensitive to the same ion.