All-solid-State Potentiometric Cu(II)-selective Sensor Based on Ion Imprinted Methacrylamide Polymer

In this study; a novel all-solid-state type potentiometric microsensor based on ion-imprinted polymer (IIP) has been developed for Cu(II) sensing. The IIP was synthesized by suspension polymerization by using Cu(II) ion, methacrylamide, methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as template, functional monomers and cross-linker respectively. The resultant Cu(II)-imprinted polymer was used as ionophore in the structure of the PVC membrane to obtain a selective potentiometric response towards Cu(II) ions. The fabricated microsensor exhibited a highly selective Nernstian response (28.6 +/- 2.2mV per decade) over the concentration range of 10(-1) to 10(-6)molL(-1) of Cu2+ ion for 2months without any considerable divergence in potentials. The response time of the microsensor was considerably short (less than 15s) and its detection limit was determined as 7.6x10(-7)molL(-1). The microsensor was effectively performed in the pH range of 4-7. The microsensor was successfully used as an indicator electrode in the potentiometric titration of Cu(II) ions with EDTA. The proposed microsensor was also used for the determination of Cu(II) contents of some environmental water samples. The obtained potentiometric results were in good harmony with the results obtained by the AAS method.