Liquid-state membrane electrode sensitive to bismuth(III)

A liquid ion-exchange electrode containing a tetrachloraethane solution of the complex of bismuth(III) with 5-mercapto-3-(naphthyl-1)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-thione is described. The electrode is sensitive to Bi³⁺. The slope of the calibration graph (electrode potential vs. concentration) is 18.7 mV/pBi in the pBi range 6.5–9.5 in ammonium acetate buffer (pH = 4.0). Bivalent cations and Al(III), Fe(III) and Th(IV) do not interfere (K_{Bi³⁺+,M²⁺}<10⁻⁵). The dissociation constant of bismuth acetate has been determined with the aid of the electrode.