A highly selective optode for determination of Hg (II) by a modified immobilization of indigo carmine on a triacetylcellulose membrane.

A new mercury optical sensor was designed with indigo carmine (IC) as a dye indicator. The water-soluble indicator was lipophilized in the form of an ion-pair with N-cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC) and dissolved in methanol (70 °C), then immobilized on a triacetylcellulose membrane. This optode exhibits a linear range of 24.0-468.0 μM of the Hg (II) ion concentration with detection limit of 7.2 μM at 669.5 nm. Response time was within 8-10 min, depending on the Hg (II) ion concentration. The sensor could readily be regenerated with a hydrochloric acid solution (0.01 M) in a reversible manner and its response was reproducible (RSD=3.2%). The method was applied to the determination of mercury content of a variety of samples which gave satisfactory results.