Nano level detection of Cd(II) using poly(vinyl chloride) based membranes of Schiff bases

The construction and performance characteristics of polymeric membrane electrodes based on two neutral ionophores, 2,2′-(1Z,1′Z)-(1E,1′E)-(1,2-phenylenebis(methan-1-yl-1-ylidene))bis(azaan-1-yl-1-ylidene)bis(methylene)bis(azan-1-yl-1-ylidene)bis(methan-1-yl-ylidene)diphenol (L₁) and 4,4′-(1E,1′E)-(butane-1,4-diylbis(azan-1-yl-1-ylidene))bis(methan-1-yl-1-ylidene)dinaphthalen-1-ol (L₂) for quantification of cadmium ions, are described. The influences of membrane compositions on the potentiometric response of the electrodes have been found to substantially improve the performance characteristics. The best performance was obtained with the electrode having a membrane composition (w/w) of (L₁) (2.6%):PVC (31.6%):DOP (63.2%):NaTPB (2.6%). The proposed electrode exhibits Nernstian response in the concentration range 5.0 × 10⁻⁹ to 1.0 × 10⁻¹ M Cd²⁺ with limit of detection 3.1 × 10⁻⁹, performs satisfactorily over wide pH range (2.0-8.5) with a fast response time (11 s). The electrode has been found to work satisfactorily in partially non-aqueous media up to 40% (v/v) content of methanol, ethanol and acetonitrile and could be used for a period of 2.5 months. The analytical usefulness of the proposed electrode has been evaluated by its application in the determination of cadmium in cigarette samples. The practical utility of the membrane electrode has also been observed in the presence of surfactants.