A New Potentiometric Sensor Based on Carbon Paste Electrode Modified with Methacrylic Acid Based-Ion Imprinted Polymer for Nickel Ion Determination

A novel ion-imprinted polymer (IIP)-based potentiometric sensor is introduced for precise determination of Ni2+ ions. The imprinted polymer was prepared using methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as functional monomer and cross-linker. This potentiometric sensor is a carbon paste electrode, composed of IIP particles (4%), graphite (64%), n-eicosane (25%), and sodium tetra phenyl borate (5%) in its optimum condition. The sensor exhibited a Nernstian slope of 29.1±0.4 mVdecade−1 in the concentration range of 1.0×10−6 to 1.0×10−1 mol L−1 with a detection limit of 5×10−7 mol L−1. The sensor demonstrated a stable potential response in the pH range of 4–7 and fast response times below 1 minute. Thanks to the high selectivity of the IIP-based probe, common interfering species had almost no effect on its response toward Ni2+ ions. The proposed sensor was prosperously applied to analyze the Ni2+ content of real sea, lake, and industrial water samples.