Monitoring Cerium Concentration in Waste Water Samples using a Novel All-Solid-State Electrode

A Ce3+ all-solid-state ion selective electrode (ASS-ISE) was developed and applied in the analysis of this ion in samples with complex matrices. The electrode includes conductive multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) -epoxy resin substrate on a copper wire, which was later coated with a Ce3+-selective PVC membrane film, optimally composed of 25% wt. of PVC, 65% wt. of nitrobenzene (NB), 2% wt. of sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB)), and 8% wt. of N’-[(2-hydroxyphenyl)methylidene]-2-furohydrazide (L) as a Ce3+-selective ion carrier. The optimal ASS-ISE showed a Nernstian behavior with a calibration curve slope of 19.3±0.4 mV/decade in the concentration window of 1.0×10-7 M to 1.0×10-4 M, and its limit of detection (LOD) reached 5.0×10-8 M. The electrode had outstanding selectivity for the target ion in the presence of varied commonly occurring interfering ions and could be satisfactorily used in the determination of cerium ion concentration in wastewater samples.