Abstract
A new Schiff's base with sulfur and nitrogen donor atoms (2-({(E)-1,2-diphenyl-2-[(2-2-sulfanylphenyl)imino]ethylidene}amino)-1-benzenethiol, DSAB) was used as a membrane-active component to prepare a Y(III)-selective polymeric membrane microelectrode. The electrode exhibits a Nernstian response toward Y(III) ions over a wide concentration range (1.0 × l0−2–1.0 × 10−7 M), with a detection limit of 7.0 × l0−8 M (6.2 µg/mL). It has a very fast response time <5 s and can be used for at least one month without any considerable divergence in potentials. The proposed membrane sensor revealed very good selectivity toward yttrium over a wide variety of other metal ions including alkali, alkaline earth, transition, and heavy metal ions and could be used in the pH range 4.0–9.0. It was used as an indicator electrode in the potentiometric titration of yttrium ions with EDTA. The proposed micro sensor was also used to direct determination of yttrium in an yttrium–aluminum alloy sample.