Bis (trans-cinnamaldehyde) ethylene diimine dibromonickel (II) complex as a neutral carrier for salicylate-selective liquid membrane and coated graphite sensors

A salicylate PVC-based membrane (SPME) and a coated graphite membrane (SCGE) electrodes by using a new tetracoordinate organonickel complex as ion carrier were prepared. Both sensors show a Nernstian response to salicylate ions over a very wide concentration ranges (1.0×10⁻⁵-1.0×10⁻¹ M for SPME and 1.0×10⁻⁶-1.0×10⁻² M for SCGE) in the pH of 7.0. The best selectivities were obtained for the membrane incorporating 30% PVC, 63% plasticizer, 2% cationic additive and 5% ionophore. The electrodes possess satisfactory reproducibility, very short response time (∼10 s) in the whole concentration ranges, and excellent discriminating ability for salicylate ions with respect to the most common organic and inorganic anions. The detection limits of proposed sensors are 5.0×10⁻⁶ and 7.0×10⁻⁷ M for SPME and SCGE, respectively. The electrodes were successfully used for determination of salicylate in biological samples.