Polypyrrole-calcion film as a membrane and solid-contact in an indicator electrode for potentiometric titrations

This paper shows the application of conducting polymers (CPs) for constructing potentiometric indicator electrodes. Two types of polypyrrole (PPy)-based calcium sensors are presented, one sensor with PPy-calcion film as the active part and the other sensor with PPy-calcion as a solid-state contact coated with a conventional membrane selective towards calcium ions. It is shown that the PPy-calcion film, due to the complexing properties of calcion ensuring high loading of the film with calcium, is sufficiently selective to be used as the active part or as a mediating layer of the indicator electrode. The electrode, with PPy-calcion film as the active part, was used as the indicator electrode in potentiometric titrations of calcium in mixed solvents, where conventional PVC-based electrode can not be used. For the first time, the practical applicability of PPy-based electrodes in titrations is demonstrated.