A new method based on the Butler-Volmer formalism to evaluate voltammetric cation and anion sensors.
A new method based on the Butler-Volmer formalism is applied to assess the capability of two voltammetric ion sensors based on polypyrrole films: PPy/DBS and PPy/ClO4 modified electrodes were studied as voltammetric cation and anion sensors, respectively. The reversible potential versus electrolyte concentrations semilogarithm plots provided positive calibration slopes for PPy/DBS and negative ones for PPy/ClO4, as was expected from the proposed method and that based on the Nernst equation. The slope expressions deduced from Butler-Volmer include the electron-transfer coefficient, which allows slope values different from the ideal Nernstian value to be explained. Both polymeric films exhibited a degree of ion-selectivity when they were immersed in mixed-analyte solutions. Selectivity coefficients for the two proposed voltammetric cation and anion sensors were obtained by several experimental methods, including the separated solution method (SSM) and matched potential method (MPM). The K values acquired by the different methods were very close for both polymeric sensors.
Cano
Manuel
M
Departmento de Química Física y Termodinámica Aplicada, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Edf C-3, 14071 Córdoba, Spain.
Rodríguez-Amaro
Rafael
R
Fernández Romero
Antonio J
AJ