• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.466-473
• /
• 2000

The complex formation constants (${\beta}_{MLn}$) of potassium and various sodium-selective neutral carriers in solvent polymeric membranes have been determined using solvent polymeric membrane-based optodes and ion-selective electrodes (ISEs). Two different types of PVC-based membranes containing the H^+selective chromoionophore (ETH 5294) with and without a sodium ionophore (4-tert-bntylcalix[4]arenetetraacetic acid tetraethyl ester, ETH 2120, bis[(12-crown-4)methyl] dodecylmethylmalonate or monensin methyl ester) were prepared and their optical responses to either the changes in alkali metal cation (e.g., sodium and potassium) concentrations at a fixed pH (0.05 M Tris-HCl, pH 7.2) or varying pH at a fixed alkali metal cation concentration (0.1 M) were measured. The same type of membranes were also mounted in conventional electrode body and their potentiometric responses to varying pH at a fixed alkali metal cation concentration (0.1 M) were measured. The complex formation constants of the ligand could be calculated from the calibration plots of the relative absorbance vs. the activity ratios of cation and proton ($a_{M^+}/a_{H^+}$) and of the emf vs. pH. It was confirmed that the ratio values of the complex formation constants for the primary and interfering ions are closely related to the experimental selectivity coefficients of ISEs.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.513-521
• /
• 2009

The primary goal of this research was to develop an optimized analytical procedure for soil analysis based on ion-selective microelectrodes for agricultural purposes, which can perform on-site measurement of various ions in soil easily and rapidly. For the simple and rapid on-site diagnosis, an analysis of soil chemicals was performed employing a multicomponent-in-situ-extractant and an evaluation of ionselective microelectrodes were conducted through the regressive correlation method with a standard analytical approach widely employed in this area. Examination of sensor responses between various soil nutrient extractants revealed that 0.01M HCl and 1M LiCl provided the most ideal Nernstian response. However, 1M LiCl deteriorated the selective response for analytes due to high concentration (1M) of lithium cation. Thus, employing either 0.1M HCl as an extractant followed by 10 times dilution, or 0.01M HCl as an extractant without further dilution was chosen as the optimal extractant composition. A study of regressive correlation between results from ion-selective microelectrodes and those from the standard analytical procedure showed that analyses of $K^+$, $Na^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, and $NO_3{^-}$ showed the excellent consistency between two methods. However, the response for $NH_4{^+}$ suffered the severe interference from $K^+$. In addition, the selectivity for $Mg^{2+}$ over $Ca^{2+}$ was not sufficient enough since available ionophores developed so far do not provide such a high selectivity for $Mg^{2+}$. Therefore, as an agricultural on-site diagnostic instrument, the device in development requires further research on $NH_4{^+}$ analysis in the soil sample, development of $Mg^{2+}$-selective ionophore, and more detailed study focused on potassium, one of the most important plant nutrients.