Construction of a PVC based 15-crown-5 electrochemical sensor for Ag(Ⅰ) cation

The macrocyclic ligand,15-crown-5,was used as an ionophore for fabrication of a polyvinyl chloride(PVC) based membrane sensor for Ag(Ⅰ) cation.For construction of the Ag(Ⅰ) cation selective electrode the best response characteristics were obtained using the composition: 15-crown-5/PVC/o-nitrophenyloctylether(NPOE)/sodium tetraphenyl borate(NaTPB) in the percentage ratio of 5.6/30/60.5/3.9(w/w/w/w).The electrochemical sensor shows a linear dynamic range 1.0 10 7–1.0 10 1mol/L and a Nernstian slope of 58.9 0.5 mV/decade with a detection limit of 8.09 10 8mol/L for Ag(Ⅰ) cation.It has a fast response time of 10 s and can be used for at least 8 weeks without any considerable divergences in its potential response.It was successfully used as an indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of Ag(Ⅰ)cation with I and Cl anions and also for the determination of this metal cation in radiology waste water.