Triethylene glycol ether end-grafted carbosilane dendrimer: a potential ionophore for potassium ion recognition

The performance of a newly synthesized carbosilane dendrimer bearing four triethylene glycol ether (TEG) units, Si(CH2CH2CH2Si(Me)2CH2CH2CH2(OCH2CH2)3Me)4 (1), as ionophores in ion-selective electrodes has been investigated. Optimization of the plasticized polyvinyl chloride membrane composition has produced electrodes that exhibit a Nernstian response for potassium ions. The best general characteristics exhibited by the electrodes were found when the membrane composition ratio of DPE:1:NaTPB:PVC 60:3:2:35 (wt%) was used. The response of the electrode was linear with a Nernstian slope of 58.3 mV/decade over the K+ ion concentration range of 1.9x10(-7) to 1.0x10(-1) M with a detection limit of 3.1x10(-7) M. The response time to achieve a 95% steady potential for the K+ concentration ranging from 1.0x10(-1) to 1.0x10(-8) M was less than 10 s, and it was found that the electrode is suitable for use within a pH range of 5.5-8.5. The selectivity coefficients (log KPotK+,Mn+)), which were determined by the fixed interference method, showed good selectivity for K+ against most of the interfering cations. The influence of this selective ion-binding behavior using electrospray ionization time-of-flight (ESI-TOF) mass spectrometric studies is discussed.