Positively Charged Organosilanes Covalently Linked to the Silica Network as Modulating Tools for the Salinity Correction of pH Values Obtained with Colorimetric Sensor Arrays (CSAs)

Seven increasing levels of water salinity from 0.029 to 0.600 M (as NaCl) were used to investigate the dependence of pH measurement, performed using colorimetric sensor arrays (CSAs), on ionic strength. The CSAs were arrays of sensing spots prepared in the form of sol-gel-embedding Bromothymol Blue (BB) and Bromocresol Green (BCG) in a porous nitrocellulose support. The support was impregnated over the entire thickness (≈100 µm), allowing for the signal (Hue) acquisition on the opposite side to the contact with the sample solution. Three CSAs were prepared, M1, M2, and M3. M1 contained a free cationic surfactant, hexadecyltrimethylammonium p-toluenesulfonate (CTApTs), for modulating the pKa of the indicators. In M2, the surfactant dimethyloctadecyl[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ammonium chloride (DTSACl) was covalently bonded to the sol-gel. M3 was prepared like M2 but using a larger amount of ethanol as the solvent for the synthesis. The modulation of the CTApTs or the DTSACl concentration enabled the tuning of the pKa. In general, the pKa modulation ability decreased with the increase in salinity. The presence of a surfactant covalently linked to the backbone partially reduced the competitiveness of the anionic species, improving the results. Nevertheless, the salt effect was still present, and a correction algorithm was required. Between pH 5.00 and 12.00, this correction could be made automatically by using spots taken as references to produce sensors independent of salinity. As the salt effect is virtually absent above 0.160 M, M2 and M3 can be used for future applications in seawater.