Wire-coated silver(I) ion-selective electrode based on 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) ionophore: application to the determination of silver in real samples.

A new wire-coated silver ion-selective electrode with a wider concentration range (10(-7) M - 10(-1) M) was developed using 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) as a neutral ionophore. An optimum mixture of PVC, ionophore, dioctylphtalate (DOP) as a plasticizer and sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB) as an ion-pairing agent was used in preparing the coatings. The effect of various parameters, such as the electrode bed nature, coating composition and solution pH, on the efficiency of the electrode is described. It has been shown that platinum acts as a more suitable bed for electrode preparation, and exhibits a slope of 59.5 +/- 1 mV over the whole range of studied concentrations. The selectivity coefficient of the electrode towards various interfering cations as well as its reproducibility, response time and lifetime of the electrode were estimated. The developed electrode was successfully used for the determination of trace amounts of silver in human hair and photographic waste as real samples and in the potentiometric titration of halides as an indicator electrode.