Flow injection potentiometry by a new coated graphite ion-selective electrode for the determination of Pb(2+)

A new graphite coated electrode for the determination of Pb²⁺ based on a recently synthesized ionophore 1-hydroxy-2-{2-[2-(2-hydroxy-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy methyl}-anthracene-9,10-dione (L) has been developed. The electrode was used in flow injection potentiometry by a home-made flow cell. Under both the batch and flow conditions, the electrode revealed a near Nernstian response over a wide lead ion concentration range (10⁻⁶ to 10⁻¹ M) and very low limit of detection. In flow injection potentiometry, excellent reproducibility (RSD%=0.49%), very high sampling rate (170 injections h⁻¹) and stable baseline was observed in the presence of 10⁻³ M KCl as ionic strength adjuster. The electrode showed high sensitivity and good selectivity for Pb²⁺ over a wide variety of alkali, alkali earth and transition metal ions and the electrode can be used for at least 3 months without any considerable change in potential response. The proposed sensor was successfully applied to the direct determination of lead in real samples and also used for the titrimetric determination of phosphate ions by both batch and flow injection potentiometry.