Multisensor system for determination of iron(II), iron(III), uranium(VI) and uranium(IV) in complex solutions

Abstract

Development and analytical evaluation of a multisensor system based on the principles of “electronic tongue” for the determination of low contents of uranium(VI), uranium(IV), iron(II) and iron(III) in complex aqueous media have been carried out. A set of 29 different chemical sensors on the basis of all-solid-state crystalline and vitreous materials with enhanced electronic conductivity and redox and ionic cross-sensitivity have been incorporated into the sensor array. Multidimensional data have been processed by pattern recognition methods such as artificial neural networks and partial least squares. It has been demonstrated that Fe(II) and Fe(III) contents in the range from 10⁻⁷ to 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ of total iron concentration can be determined with the average precision of about 25%. U(VI) and U(IV) contents can been determined with the average precision of 10–40% depending on the concentration. The developed multisensor system can be applied in future for the analysis of mining and borehole waters as well other contaminated natural media, including on-site measurements.