Highly selective potentiometric determination of nitrate ions using silver bisdiethyldithiocarbamate based membrane electrodes

A new all-solid-state PVC membrane nitrate electrode was developed and nitrate ions were potentiometrically analyzed. Silver (I) bisdiethyldithiocarbamate ((C2H5)2NCS2)2Ag+) (Ag(dtc)2) compound was used as electroactive positive charged carrier (ionophore) in the plasticized PVC membrane structure of the developed electrode. The developed nitrate selective polymeric membrane electrode (nitrate-ISE) exhibited linear potentiometric behavior in the concentration range of nitrate ions from 1.0 x 10-1 to 1.0 x 10-5 mol L-1 and the detection limit was determined as 6.71 x 10-6 mol L-1. Although nitrate-ISE has good reproducibility, the pH working range is determined to be 4 - 9. The proposed nitrate-ISE has been successfully applied for the determination of nitrate ions in different water samples and fruit juices.