Comparison of new optical sensor based on triazene ligand immobilized on PVC and triacetylcellulose membranes for Hg (II) Ion

For spectrophotometric analysis of Hg(II) ions, we have utilized and thought about two membranes preparation techniques utilizing different polymers; one is poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and the other is triacetylcellulose (TAC). In the case of TAC membrane, it was treated with a ligand solution (1.166 × 10^-3mol L^-1) in ethylenediamine at ambient temperature for almost 2-5 min. However, in the case of PVC membrane, the ligand of triazene was incorporated into a plasticized membrane of PVC. The significant factors which had an impact on the determination of analytical performance from aqueous solutions are as follows: the limit of detections (LODs) by TAC membrane (64 μg L^-1) and by PVC membrane (0.069 ng L^-1), linear dynamic range (LDR) by TAC membrane (7-90 mg L^-1) and by PVC membrane (0.125-10 μg L^-1). In this study, LODs and linear dynamic range of PVC membrane were lower than that of TAC membrane by a factor of 10000. Nonetheless, TAC membrane was less demanding to work and not any more uncommon gadget required, but PVC membrane required much shorter time reaching a steady state. Both membranes were successfully applied in order to determine the level of Hg(II) in water samples.