Ionophore-based liquid-membrane ion-selective electrodes (ISEs), because of their versatility and low cost, are becoming widely used for many applications as electrochemical sensors. The selectivity of ISEs is governed by specific receptors, immobilized in an organic membrane, which are responsible for the molecular recognition of the analyte at the aqueous/organic interface.
1-3The strong need for the selective determination of Pb 2+ in environment monitoring, food technology and clinical analysis still stimulates research that seeks suitable ionophore designs which would allow one to improve the selectivity and detection limits.Several types of ionophores including thiacrown ethers, 4,5 methoxy-substituted arylenevinylene derivatives, 6,7 diazacrown ethers, 8 calixarene phosphine oxide, 9 macrocyclic amides, 10 oxamides, acyclic dithiocarbamates, 11,12 were used for detection of lead(II) ions. Here we report on a sensing system involving oligocarbazoles ( Fig. 1) that, to our knowledge, have been applied for the first time as Pb 2+ -selective ionophores in ISEs. Carbazoles and oligocarbazoles are compounds whose syntheses, molecular and photorefractive properties, and also electrochemical behavior are still being studied. [13][14][15] In view of their unique optical and electrical properties, carbazole derivatives have found applications in polymer films for the construction of biosensors. [16][17][18] Considerable effort is currently invested in the improvement of the selectivity and detection limits of ISEs. [19][20][21][22] The success within this research area and the possibilities of miniaturized sensors based on ion-selective liquid membranes 23-25 make potentiometric sensors a promising alternative for other analytical methods and justify the requirements to design new, selective ionophores. In this context, oligocarbazoles derivatives, studied as a new class of ionophores for potentiometric determination of lead ions in water samples, is the main objective of the research presented. Warmia and Mazury, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Fisheries, Oczapowskiego 5, Olsztyn, Poland ***University of Leuven, Department of Chemistry, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Leuven, Belgium Oligocarbazoles have been applied as new ionophores in liquid membrane electrodes (ISEs) destined for lead(II) determination in water samples. The oligocarbazole-containing ISEs demonstrated a close-to-Nernstian potentiometric response towards Pb 2+ in the activity range 10 -7 -10 -2 M. The selectivity coefficients measured by the matched potential method (MPM) confirmed their good selectivity against common interfering mono-and doubly charged cations. The oligocarbazole-containing ISEs do not respond towards protons. Their applicability has been checked by performing the recovery test while using a sample of wastewater.