Anion-selective electrodes based on a gold(III)-triisobutylphosphine sulfide complex

Ion-selective electrodes using poly(vinyl chloride) membranes impregnated with a gold(III)-triisobutylphosphine sulfide complex are described. These electrodes were characterized in both conventional and flow-through tubular configurations. The response of the electrodes was Nernstian for thiocyanate and tetrachloroaurate(III) and the detection limit was 1.1 × 10^-6 mol dm^-3. Flow-through tubular electrodes were used as potentiometric detectors in flow-injection analysis, resulting in a reproducible (peak heights within ± 1 mV for three repeated injections at a given concentration level) and rapid (sample throughputs around 80 h^-1) technique for the determination of both anions.