Ytterbium-selective polymeric membrane electrode based on substituted urea and thiourea as a suitable carrier

Plasticized membranes using 1-phenyl-3-(2-thiazolyl)-2-thiourea (PTT) and 1-phenyl-3-(2-thiazolyl)-2-urea (PTU) have been prepared and explored as ytterbium ion-selective sensors. Effect of various plasticizers, viz. chloronaphthalene (CN), o-nitrophenyloctyl ether (o-NPOE), dibutylphthalate (DBP), dioctylsebacate (DOS) and anion excluders, sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB) and oleic acid (OA) was studied and improved membrane performance was observed. Optimum performance was noted with membrane of PTT having composition of PTT (3.5):PVC (80):DOS (160):NaTPB (1.5) in mg. The sensor works satisfactorily in the concentration range 1.2 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.0 × 10⁻² M (detection limit 5.5 × 10⁻⁸ M) with a Nernstian slope of 19.7 mV decade⁻¹ of activity. Wide pH range (3.0-8.0), fast response time (10 s), non-aqueous tolerance (up to 20%) and adequate shelf life (12 weeks) indicate the vital utility of the proposed sensor. The proposed electrode comparatively shows good selectivity for Yb³⁺ ion with respect to alkali, alkaline earth, transition and rare earth metals ions and can be used for its determination in binary mixtures and sulfite determination in white and red wine samples.