A Comparative Study of Chromium(III) Ion-Selective Electrodes Based on N,N-Bis(salicylidene)-o-phenylenediaminatechromium(III)

A comparative study was made between three types of Cr(III) ion-selective electrodes: PVC membrane electrode, silver coated electrode and modified carbon paste electrode based on N,N-bis(salicylidene)-o-phenylenediaminatechromium(III) complex (Crsalophen). As anticipated, electrodes with a solid contact, rather than a traditional liquid inner contact, give lower detection limits because of diminished ion fluxes. Often, however, ill-defined solid contact gives rise to instabilities and interferences by oxygen gas. The carbon paste electrode provides a more sensitive and stable device than that afforded by PVC and coated electrodes. The best performance was obtained by an electrode based on the paste containing 3.5 wt% Cr-complex, 48.5% graphite plasticized with a mixture of 24.0 wt% tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (DOPh) + 24.0 wt% dioctyl sebacate (DOS). The sensor has a linear dynamic range of 7.5 x 10(-6) to 1.0 x 10(-2) M, with a Nernstian slope of 20.1 +/- 0.6 mV decade(-1), and a detection limit of 1.8 x 10(-6). It has a short response time of a bout 8 s and is applicable in a pH range of 4.5-7.7. It was successfully used as an indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of Cr(III) with EDTA and in determination of Cr(III) in water samples and chromium in (Crsalophen).