Mercury ion selective poly(aniline) solid contact electrode based on 2-mercaptobenzimidazol ionophore

A mercury(II) ion selective poly(aniline) solid contact electrode based on 2-mercaptobenzimidazol (2MBI) ionophore as a sulfur containing sensing material was successfully developed. The electrode exhibits a good linear response of 29.1 mV/decade (at 20 ± 0.2°C, r ² = 0.997) within the concentration range of 1 × 10^?2?1 × 10^?7 M Hg(II). The composition of this electrode was: ionophore 0.100, polyvinylchloride (PVC) 0.330, dibutylphthalate (DBP) 0.470, potassiumtetrakis(4-chlorophenyl)borate (KTpCIPB) 0.090, and oleic acid (OA) 0.010. A poly(aniline) solid contact electrode based on 2MBI with DBP and OA plasticizers exhibited the best response characteristics of the results obtained for similarly coated wire type electrodes and solid contact electrodes based on only one DBP plasticizer. The electrode shows good selectivity for mercury(II) ions in comparison with alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions. This electrode is suitable for use with aqueous solutions of pH 3.3?C8.0 and the standard deviation in the measured EMF difference was ±0.5 mV in a mercury nitrate sample solution of 1.0 × 10^?2 M and ±1.1 mV in a mercury nitrate sample solution of 1.0 × 10^?3 M. The stabilization time was less than 15 min and the response time was less than 33 s. The electrode was applied as a sensor for the determination of Hg(II) content in a sea water sample and some amalgam alloys. The results show good correlation with data obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry.