Highly sensitive sensing of zinc(II) by development and characterization of a PVC-based fluorescent chemical sensor

A sensor membrane with excellent performance based on 1-methyl-1-phenyl-3-[1-hydroxyimino-2-(succinimido)ethyl]cyclobutane has been developed for the determination of zinc(II) ions. The sensing membrane is capable of determining zinc(II) with an outstanding high selectivity over a dynamic range between 8.0 × 10−8 and 1.6 × 10−4 mol L−1 with a limit of detection of 2.5 × 10−8 mol L−1 (1.6 μg L−1). It can be easily and completely regenerated by using 0.1 mol L−1 EDTA solution. The optical sensor developed here was found to be stable, cost effective, easy to prepare, and has unique selectivity towards Zn2+ ion with respect to common metal ions. The proposed sensor was then applied for the determination of zinc in tap water and hair samples with satisfactory results.