Studies on the cationic selectivity of the potentiometric membrane containing thiamine metatungstate as ionophore

Abstract

An unconventional structure was obtained by extraction of K⁺ ions with nitrobenzene solution of thiamine metatungstate. This shows that K⁺ penetration into the organic phase is not an exchange process. The solution of thiamine metatungstate in nitrobenzene acts as a spacial structure that entraps K⁺ ions in a molar ratio of 1 : 2. The absence of a chemical reaction between K⁺ and the metatungstic anion (proved experimentally) and the specificity of the interaction with K⁺, suggests that the formation of the structure potassium – thiamine metatungstate (KTM) could be controlled by dimensional criteria. The nitrobenzene solution of KTM shows a remarkable potentiometric selectivity for K⁺ compared with any other alkaline and alkaline earth cations. The potentiometric K⁺-selective electrode, based on KTM as ionophore, responds linearly in the range 3.8 × 10^–5–1.0 × 10^–1 mol/L, with a slope of 56 mV/ decade and a detection limit of 1.2 × 10^–5 mol/L. The electrode maintained these response characteristics over a period of more than two months.