A new coated-wire cobalt(II)-selective electrode based on the benzalkonium tetrathiocyanatocobaltate(II) ion pair

A cobalt-selective electrode based on the benzalkonium tetrathiocyanatocobaltate(II) ion pair is described. The response is Nemstian (slope 29.3 $\text{mV}\text{pCo}$) in the cobalt concentration range 10^-1–10^-4 M in solutions with a constant ionic strength of 3.0 M made up with KSCN at 25°C. The electrode is suitable for end-point detection in titrations of cobalt(II) with EDTA as well as for direct potentiometric determinations of cobalt(II), even in the presence of large amounts of several metal ions (Ni²⁺, Fe²⁺, Mn²⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺) and anions (HCO₃^-, Br^-, I^-, NO₃^-, SO₄^2-).