Construction of a highly selective PVC-based membrane sensor for Ce(III) ions

A highly Ce(III) ion-selective poly vinyl chloride (PVC) membrane sensor based on N′-[(2-hydroxyphenyl)methylidene]-2-furohydrazide (NHMF) as an excellent sensing material is successfully developed. The electrode shows a good selectivity for Ce(III) ions with respect to most common cations including alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions. The proposed sensor exhibits a wide linear response with a slope of 19.4 ± 0.3 mV/decade over the concentration range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.0 × 10⁻¹ M, and a detection limit of 7.6 × 10⁻⁶ M of Ce(III) ions. The sensor response is independent of pH in the range of 3.5–10.0. The proposed electrode was applied as an indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of Ce(III) ions with EDTA and C₂O₄². It was also successfully applied in the determination of cerium ions in aqueous samples.     

Perchlorate selective membrane electrodes based on synthesized platinum(II) complexes for low-level concentration measurements

Three synthesized platinum(II) complexes, [PtR₂(NN)] (R = Me, p-MeC₆H₄ and p-MeOC₆H₄; NN = 2,2′-bipyridyl), were studied to characterize their ability as an anion carrier in a PVC membrane electrode. The polymeric membrane electrodes (PME) and also coated glassy carbon electrodes (CGCE) prepared with [Pt(p-MeOC₆H₄)₂(NN)] showed excellent response characteristics to perchlorate ions. The electrodes exhibited Nernstian responses to ClO₄⁻ ions over a wide concentration range from 5 × 10⁻⁷ to 4.0 × 10⁻¹ M for PME and 1.5 × 10⁻⁷ to 2.7 × 10⁻¹ M for CGCE with low detection limits (4.0 × 10⁻⁷ M for PME and 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ M for CGCE). The electrodes possess fast response time, satisfactory reproducibility, appropriate lifetime and, most importantly, good selectivity toward ClO₄⁻ relative to a variety of other common anions. The potentiometric response of the electrodes is independent of the pH of the test solution in the pH range 2.5–9.5. The proposed sensors were used in potentiometric determination of perchlorate ions in mineral water, urine samples and also samples containing interfering anions. The interaction of the ionophore with perchlorate ions was shown by UV–vis spectroscopy.     

A novel potentiometric membrane sensor for determination of Co based on 5-amino-3-methylisothiazole

A new poly(vinylchloride) (PVC) membrane electrode for trace level determination of Co²⁺ ions has been developed based on 5-amino-3-methylisothiazole as an ionophore, o-nitrophenyloctylether as a plasticizer and oleic acid (OA) as a good lipophilic additive. The electrode exhibits a Nernstian slope of 29.5 ± 0.2 mV/decade in a linear range of 1.0 × 10⁻¹ to 6.3 × 10⁻⁷ M for Co²⁺ ions. The detection limit of this electrode is 3.9 × 10⁻⁷ M. It has a fast response time of 12 s and can be used for a period of 4 months without any divergence in potentials. The proposed electrode reveals a good selectivity for Co (II) over a wide variety of other tested cations and could be used in the pH range 3.3–9.0. The electrode was successfully applied as an indicator electrode for the potentiometric titration of cobalt ions with EDTA as well as for the direct determination of Co (II) in real samples.     

Fabrication of a highly selective and sensitive Gd(III)-PVC membrane sensor based on N-(2-pyridyl)-N′-(4-nitrophenyl)thiourea

In this work we report the development of a highly selective and sensitive Gd(III) membrane based on N-(2-pyridyl)-N′-(4-nitrophenyl)thiourea (PyTu4NO₂) as an excellent neutral ion carrier. The Gd(III) sensor exhibits a Nernstian slope of 19.95 ± 0.3 mV per decade over the concentration range of 3.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.0 × 10⁻¹ M, and a detection limit of 3.0 × 10⁻⁷ M of Gd(III) ions. The potentiometric response of the sensor is independent of the solution pH in the range of 4.0–9.0. It manifests advantages of low detection limit, fast response time (10 s), and most significantly, very good selectivity with respect to a number of lanthanide ions (La, Ce, Sm, and Eu ions). It can be used at least for a period of 8 weeks without any significant divergences in its potential response. To assess its analytical applicability the proposed Gd(III) sensor was successfully applied as an indicator electrode in the titration of Gd(III) ion solutions with EDTA and for the determination of the fluoride ion in two mouth wash preparations. It was also used for the direct monitoring of Gd(III) ions in binary mixtures.     

Manganese(II)-selective PVC membrane electrode based on a pentaazamacrocyclic manganese complex

Manganese(II) complex of 14,16-dimethyl-1,4,7,10,13-pentaazacyclohexadeca-13,16-diene [Me₂(16)dieneN₅] (I) was synthesized and used in the fabrication of Mn²⁺-selective ISE membrane in PVC matrix. The membrane having Mn(II) macrocyclic complex as electroactive material along with sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB) as anion discriminator and dioctylphthalate (DOP) as plasticizer in poly(vinylchloride) (PVC) matrix was prepared for the determination of Mn²⁺. The best performance was observed by the membrane having Mn(II) complex–PVC–NaTPB–DOP in the ratio 1:5:1:3. The sensor worked well over a concentration range of 1.25 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.0 × 10⁻¹ M between pH 3.0 and 8.0 and had a fast response time of 20 s with a lifetime of 4 months. Their performance in partially non-aqueous medium was found satisfactory up to 30% (v/v) alcoholic content. Electrodes exhibited excellent selectivity for Mn²⁺ ion over other mono-, di-, trivalent cations. It can also be used as indicator electrode in the potentiometric titration of Mn²⁺ against EDTA.     

Development of a new fluorescent sensor based on a triazolo-thiadiazin derivative immobilized in polyvinyl chloride membrane for sensitive detection of lead(II) ions

A new sensor membrane based on a novel triazolo-thiadiazin derivative immobilized in polyvinyl chloride has been developed for the determination of Pb(II) ions that displays excellent performance. The parameters involved in the preparation of the optode and determination of Pb(II) were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the proposed sensor displays a calibration response for Pb(II) over a wide concentration range of 5.0 × 10⁻⁸ to 3.8 × 10⁻⁴ M with the detection limit of 2.2 × 10⁻⁸ M. In addition to high reproducibility and reversibility of the fluorescence signal, the sensor also exhibits good selectivity over common metal ions. The optode membrane developed is easily prepared, stable, rapid, and simple for the determination of Pb(II). The accuracy of the proposed sensor was confirmed by analyzing standard reference materials of natural water and surface water. The sensor was successfully used for the determination of Pb(II) ions in water samples with satisfactory results.     

Characterisation of an optical sensor membrane based on the metal ion indicator Pyrocatechol Violet

A non-specific photometric metal ion indicator Pyrocatechol Violet (PV) was tested for its potential use in a metal-sensitive optrode membrane. The water soluble indicator was lipophilised in the form of an ion pair with tetraoctylammonium cation (TOA), and subsequently immobilised in a plasticised PVC membrane. The spectral response of the membrane in the presence of various transition metal ions was studied. It was found that the ability of PV to form complexes with metal ions significantly reduced following immobilisation, with the exception of Cu(II). A number of factors responsible for the improved selectivity and high sensitivity of immobilised PV towards Cu(II) were identified. Amongst those, the most important is the presence of quaternary ammonium salt in the membrane which induced a significant bathochromic shift of the PV–Cu(II) chelate absorption maximum, as well as the intensification of the chelate absorption band. The membrane responds to Cu(II) irreversibly by changing colour from yellow to green (absorption maximum at 740 nm), and typically, an exposure time of 10 min enables the determination of Cu(II) in the 1–100 μM range. A comparison of selectivity and sensitivity characteristics between the water soluble form of the indicator and the immobilised form was performed, and the effects of pH and lipophilic surfactant additives on the response mechanism are discussed.     

Fabrication of a highly selective Eu(III) membrane sensor based on a new S–N hexadentates Schiff''s base

A novel potentiometric membrane Eu (III) ion sensor is described based on a new S–N hexadentates Schiff's base, bis(thiophenol)butane2,3-dihydrazone (SNSB). The sensor exhibited a Nernstian response over a concentration range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.0 × 10⁻² M, with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10⁻⁶ M. The best performance was achieved with a membrane composition of 30% PVC, 63% o-nitrophenyloctyl ether (NPOE), 5% SNSB, and 5% (0.010 mmol) potassium tetrakis(p-chlorophenyl) borate (KTpClPB). It was found that in the pH range of 3.0–8.5, the potential response of the sensor was not affected by the pH. Furthermore, the electrode presented satisfactory reproducibility, very fast response time (<5 s), and relatively good discriminating ability for Eu(III) ions with respect to many common cations and lanthanide ions, including sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc, lead, lanthanum, cerium, gadolinium, samarium, ytterbium, presidium, terbium, neodymium, holmium, erbium, thulium, lutetium, dysprosium, iron and chromium metal ions. The sensor was applied to the determination of fluoride ions in two mouth wash preparations and binary mixtures.     

Development of a mercury optical sensor based on immobilization of 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol on a triacetylcellulose membrane

A new optical sensor for mercury(II) ions is developed based on immobilization of 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol (PAR) on a triacetylcellulose membrane. Chemical binding of Hg²⁺ ions in solution with a PAR immobilized on the triacetylcellulose surface could be monitored spectrophotometrically at 525 nm. The optode shows excellent response over a wide concentration range of 5–3360 μM Hg(II) with a limit of detection of 1.5 μM Hg(II). The influence of factors responsible for the improved sensitivity of the sensor were studied and identified. The response time of the optode was 20 min for a stable solution, and was 15 min for a stirrer solution. The influence of potential interfering ions on the determination of 5 × 10⁻⁵ M Hg(II) was studied. The sensor was applied for determination of Hg(II) in water samples.     

一种基于双E型膜片的微小六维力传感器的设计

基于双E型膜片结构的六维力传感器用于常规环境下的机器人操作已有成熟应用,探讨将该结构应用于微纳环境下的机器人操作的可能性。首先介绍了该弹性体结构的测力原理,并用有限元分析软件对弹性体的静态和动态特性进行了仿真。结果表明此种结构的六维力传感器可在微纳环境下测力,并具有各向灵敏度高、线形好、维间耦合小等优点。     

香草醛缩氨基硫脲为中性载体的铬离子选择性电极的研究

合成了香草醛缩氨基硫脲并以此做中性载体研制了PVC膜铬离子选择性电极。在pH=3.0的硝酸体系中,电极电位呈现近能斯特响应,线性响应范围为3.0×10-5～1×10-1mol/L,斜率为20.8mV/dec(20℃),检测下限为1.5×10-5mol/L。电极具有较好的稳定性和重现性。该电极用于EDTA的电位滴定其结果令人满意。     

聚L-苯丙氨酸/石墨烯修饰电极测定左旋多巴

将玻碳电极(GCE)放入L-苯丙氨酸(LP)和氧化石墨烯(GO)的混合液中进行循环伏安扫描聚合,该过程中GO通过电化学还原成石墨烯(ERGO),因而得到聚L-苯丙氨酸/石墨烯修饰电极(PLP-ERGO/GCE),该电极对左旋多巴(LDA)具有较好的催化能力和较快的电子传递速率。利用循环伏安法(CV)和差分脉冲伏安法(DPV)探究了LDA在该电极上的电化学行为,LDA在电极表面的氧化还原过程受扩散控制。在最佳实验条件下,LDA在0.478 V处产生一个氧化峰。采用DPV法测定LDA的线性范围为7.50×10-6~2.50×10-4 mol/L,检出限为7.5×10-7 mol/L。用于样品中左旋多巴的测定,结果满意。     

Non-aggregation based label free colorimetric sensor for the detection of Cr (VI) based on selective etching of gold nanorods

Gold nanorods (GNRs) exhibit strong longitudinal surface plasmon resonance absorption (LPA), which is highly dependent on its aspect ratio (length/width). The strong oxidization of Cr (VI) enables it to etch GNRs selectively at tips. The redox etching causes the aspect ratio of GNRs to decrease, resulting in the LPA blue shifts and the color of GNRs distinctly changes. Besides, the blue shift is linear to the concentration of Cr (VI) in the range of 0.1-20 μM. Thus, a non-aggregation based label free colorimetric sensor for the detection of Cr (VI) has been developed based on the selective etching of GNRs. The proposed colorimetric sensor is responsive, simple, sensitive (detection limit is 8.8 × 10⁻⁸ M) and selective, and it has been successfully applied to the detection of Cr (VI) in drinking water and sea water. Moreover, the mechanism of colorimetric sensor for the detection of Cr (VI) was also discussed.     

Investigation of a fibre optic copper sensor based on immobilised α-benzoinoxime (cupron)

α-Benzoinoxime, a highly selective reagent used for the gravimetric and colorimetric determination of copper, was successfully immobilised on XAD-2 and coupled with optical fibres to investigate a sensor-based approach for determining copper. Reflectance measurements were used to quantify sensor response. Optimum response was obtained at a wavelength of 560 nm and at a solution pH of 7. Using a kinetic approach in which the rate of change of reflectance is measured over a 4-min period, the response was found to be linear in the range 5–127 ppm. After measurement, the sensor can be regenerated for reuse by immersing the probe in 0.1 M HCl. With continuous use, the sensing layer was found to be stable for at least 3 days. The advantages of using α-benzoinoxime in this way are compared with its use in the traditional gravimetric and colorimetric way.     

Using a metal oxide sensor (MOS)-based electronic nose for discrimination of bacteria based on individual colonies in suspension

Timely and accurate determination of the presence and nature of foodborne bacterial pathogens is of utmost importance in food safety. In this paper, we investigated whether an electronic nose (based on a metal-oxide sensor array) could distinguish between E. coli and Listeria. Unlike other studies in this area, samples consisted of individual colonies transferred from agar plates, then suspended in phosphate buffered saline. Features extracted from the sensor response curves capture both static (steady state) and dynamic (slope) information. The use of a linear classifier in association with supervised dimensionality reduction, using uncorrelated linear discriminant analysis (ULDA), yielded classification accuracies of 92.4%. The proposed method has the potential to reduce the overall time required to identify bacterial pathogens. This type of sample is available relatively early in the inspection process, so discrimination based on the odour signature of single colonies has the potential to reduce time and cost by eliminating or reducing subsequent culturing stages and biochemical testing. The results presented herein suggest that further research in this area is warranted, particularly with a wider variety of bacterial species.     

Catalytic determination of traces of Rh(III) using an optode based on immobilization of methyl violet on a triacetylcellulose membrane

The characterization of an optical sensor membrane is described for determination of rhodium. The optode sensing reagent is methyl violet which is immobilized on triacetylcellulose membrane. It has been found that oxidation of methyl violet with periodate is very slow. Presence of trace amount of Rh(III) catalyzes the reaction and causes a significant increase in the reaction rate. The reaction of periodate with the immobilized methyl violet in the presence of rhodium in acidic media causes a decrease in the absorbance of the film at 594 nm which is directly proportional to the concentration of rhodium. This sensing phase has a linear range of 1-110 μg mL⁻¹ for Rh(III) ions. The one-shot sensor can readily be fully regenerated with methyl violet solution, and the color is fully reversible.     

Proposing a new integrated model based on sustainability balanced scorecard (SBSC) and MCDM approaches by using linguistic variables for the performance evaluation of oil producing companies

Using the balanced scorecard approach based on sustainable development parameters is a powerful and useful methodology to evaluate the sustainable performance of organization or company. In this paper, a new approach based on sustainability balanced scorecard (SBSC) and multi criteria decision making (MCDM) approaches is developed for evaluating the performance of oil producing companies in Iran. For reflecting the interdependent relationships among factors influencing the problem under consideration, analytical network process (ANP), a branch of the MCDM techniques, is employed. However, using the ANP method for calculating the preference ratings of alternatives is a time-consuming and bothersome process; therefore, COPRAS (COmplex PRoportional ASsessment) technique is adopted to prioritize the feasible alternatives in terms of linguistic variables. Based on this study, the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model. The performance evaluation model proposed by using a combination of the MCDM methods and the SBSC approach helps authorities to make an attempt for achieving a competitive advantage.