Chemically modified carbon paste and membrane sensors for the determination of benzethonium chloride and some anionic surfactants (SLES, SDS, and LABSA): Characterization using SEM and AFM

•New benzethonium chloride PVC membrane and carbon paste sensors.•Surface characterization using AFM and SEM-EDAX techniques.•Determination of benzethonium chloride in pure form and formulations.•Determination of different anionic surfactants in commercial products.

Chemically modified carbon-paste (CMCP) and membrane- sensors based on incorporating benzothonium-tetraphenylborate (BT-TPB) were constructed for the analysis of benzethonium chloride, and some other surfactants such as sodium lauryl ether sulphate (SLES), sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), and linear alkylbenzene sulphonic acid (LABSA). All sensors showed good sensitivity and reverse wide linearity over a concentration range of 5.97×10−7 to 1.00×10−3 and 5.96×10−7 to 3.03×10−3 mol L−1 with limit of detection of 3.92×10−7and 3.40×10−7 mol L−1 for membrane and chemically modified carbon paste sensors, respectively, with respect to benzethonium chloride (BT.Cl). They could be used over a wide pH range of 2.0–10.0. The thermal coefficients of membrane and CMCP sensors are 5.40×10−4, 1.17×10−4 V/°C, respectively. The sensors indicated a wide selectivity over different inorganic cations. The effect of soaking on the surface morphology of the membrane sensor was studied using EDX-SEM and AFM techniques. The response time was <10 s The freshly prepared, exhausted membrane, and CMCP sensors were successfully applied for the potentiometric determination of the pure BT.Cl solution. They were also used for the determination of its pharmaceutical formulation Dermoplast® antibacterial spray (20% benzocaine+0.2% benzethonium chloride) with recovery values ranging from 97.54±1.70 to 101.25±1.12 and from 96.32±2.49 to 101.23±2.15%. The second goal of these sensors is the potentiometric determination of different surfactants such as SLES, SDS, and LABSA with good recovery values using BT.Cl as a titrant in their pure forms, and in samples containing one of them (shampoo, Touri® dishwashing liquid, and waste water). The statistical analysis of the obtained data was studied.

Graphical abstractChemically modified carbon paste (CMCP) and membrane sensors based on incorporating benzothonium-tetraphenylborate (BT-TPB) were constructed for the analysis of benzethonium chloride and some other surfactants. The sensors show good sensitivity and reverse wide linearity over a concentration range 5.97×10−7–1.00×10−3 and 5.96×10−7–3.03×10−3 mol L−1 with LOD value of 3.92×10−7 and 3.40×10−7 mol L−1 for membrane and chemically modified carbon paste sensors, respectively. They were used for the determination of the pharmaceutical formulation Dermoplast® antibacterial spray. The second goal of these sensors is the potentiometric determination of different surfactants such as SLES, SDS, and LABSA with good recovery values.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide