Galvanic cell without liquid junction for potentiometric determination of copper Original Research Article

This paper describes potentiometric measurements in an integrated galvanic cell with both indicator and reference electrodes. Both electrodes are conducting polymer-based. The copper-sensitive indicator electrode is made by using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) doped with 2-(o-arsenophenylazo)-1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene-3,6-disulphonic sodium salt (Arsenazo-I) as the electroactive substance in the film, while the reference electrode is based on PEDOT doped by 2-morpholineoethanesulfonic acid (MES). It is shown that the galvanic cell can be used for determination of copper both in non-aqueous media (where all PVC-based membranes failed) and in the presence of chloride ions, which disturb the signal of conventional copper ion-selective electrodes with solid-state membranes. It is further shown that the titration of copper ions can be successfully monitored using the described electrochemical cell.