New cesium ion-selective electrodes based on anilino-(1,3-dioxo-2-indanylidene) acetonitrile derivatives

Cesium ion-selective PVC membrane electrodes based on anilino-(1,3-dioxo-2-indanylidene) acetonitrile derivatives as a novel class of neutral ionophores were examined. The ionophores were p-methoxyanilino-(1,3-dioxo-2-indanylidene) acetonitrile, p-methylanilino-(1,3-dioxo-2-indanylidene) acetonitrile and p-N,N-dimethylanilino-(1,3-dioxo-2-indanylidene) acetonitrile. The anilino-(1,3-dioxo-2-indanylidene) acetonitrile proved to work well with cesium, the corresponding electrodes display a response to this ion. The most favourable ionophore was p-methoxyanilino-(1,3-dioxo-2-indanylidene) acetonitrile, especially when the secondary ion exchanger potassium tetrakis (4-chlorophenyl) borate was incorporated in 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether for ion-selective electrode membrane construction. The response function was linear within the concentration range 10(-1)-2.5x10(-5) mol l(-1) and the slope was 52 mV decade(-1). The detection limit remained at 6.3x10(-6) mol(-1). The selectivity and response time of the electrode was studied and it was found that the electrode exhibited good selectivity for cesium over alkali, alkaline earth and some transition metal ions. The electrode response was stable over a wide pH range. The lifetime of the electrode was about 1 month.