Prussian blue solid-state films and membranes as potassium ion-selective electrodes

The use of thin films of Prussian blue and heterogeneous Prussian blue membranes as potassium ion-selective electrodes was investigated. All of the heavier group I cations and NH⁺₄ interfere strongly but there is relatively good selectivity towards Na⁺ with a selectivity coefficient of ca. 5 × 10^?3. The thin-film measurements, based on Prussian blue deposited on platinum, involve conditioning the electrode to a fixed potential according to the method used by Engel and Grabner for copper hexacyanoferrate(III) films. The membrane electrodes were based on mixing Prussian blue with polymeric supporting films such as polystyrene and epoxy. A particularly simple practical configuration involves Prussian blue membranes deposited directly on copper conductors where one membrane serves as a reference electrode. A reversible cell, without liquid junction, is formed with Prussian blue and Ag/AgCl electrodes and this serves as a means for determining an accurate value for the standard reduction potential of Prussian blue, which is found to be 0.238 V vs. Ag/AgCl at 25 °C.