Polymeric membrane electrodes with high nitrite selectivity based on rhodium(III) porphyrins and salophens as ionophores.

Several porphyrin and salophen complexes with Rh(III) are examined as ionophores to prepare nitrite selective polymeric membrane electrodes. All ionophores tested exhibit preferred selectivity toward nitrite anion. Enhanced potentiometric nitrite selectivity is observed in the presence of either lipophilic anionic as well as cationic sites within the membranes, suggesting that the ionophores can function via either a charged or a neutral carrier response mechanism. Among a range of complexes and membrane formulations examined, optimal nitrite selectivity and reversible response down to 5 x 10(-6) M is achieved using Rh(III)-tetra(t-butylphenylporphyrin) as the ionophore in the presence of lipophilic cationic sites in plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) membrane. Response times are substantially longer than typical membrane electrodes apparently because of a slow nitrite ligation reaction with Rh(III); however, a significant improvement in dynamic EMF response can be realized by optimizing the membrane formulation and increasing the temperature. The selectivity observed with these membranes is greater than the best nitrite selective electrodes reported to date in the literature based on lipophilic Co(III)-corrin complexes, allowing the new nitrite electrodes to be utilized to determine the level of nitrite in meats with good correlation to the colorimetric Griess assay method.