Hexadecylpyridinium surfactant modified zeolite A as an active component of a polymeric membrane sulfite selective electrode

•Retain of anionic sorption property of surfactant modified zeolite in PVC membrane•Nernstian response of the SMZ–PVC electrode to sulfite•Success of the method in the direct and indirect potentiometry and real samples.

Zeolite A was synthesized from waste porcelain and modified by hexadecylpyridinium surfactant to change the cation exchanger property of the raw zeolite to anion exchanger property in the obtained surfactant modified zeolite (SMZ). The SMZ was used as an active ingredient component of a membrane selective sulfite electrode. The electrode was fully characterized in terms of composition, response time, thermal stability and usable pH range. The sensor showed suitable response to sulfite in the concentration range of 8.0 × 10− 7 to 1.0 × 10− 1 mol L− 1, with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10− 7 mol L− 1 and a slope of − 29.5 ± 0.8 mV per decade of sulfite concentration.