Side effects in measurements of selectivity coefficients of solid state ion selective electrodes

The influence of various factors such as solubility, the oxidation of the membrane, and the contamination of the solution, on the experimental values of the selectivity coefficients of solid state sulphide ion selective electrodes is discussed. A new method for the evaluation of very small selectivity coefficients, based on the addition of reagents forming complexes or insoluble salts with the main ion, is proposed. By means of this method, selectivity coefficients for silver, copper, cadmium and lead ion selective electrodes have been determined, which are in far better agreement with thermodynamic values than those described in the literature.