A Simple Carbon Electrode for the Potentiometric Determination of N,N,N-Trimethyl-1-Nonanammonium Bromide as a Cationic Surfactant in Formation Water Samples

A carbon electrode utilizing an ion pairing agent for the potentiometric determination of nonyltrimethylammonium bromide (NTAB) was developed. The sensitivity of the developed sensor was established through the formation of ion pair between NTAB and the proposed ion pairing agent on the surface of the sensor paste which was characterized by morphological tools. The developed sensor revealed a monovalent Nernstian slope of 58.4 +/- 0.8 mV/decade within the acceptable working concentration range of NTAB from 1.0 x 10(-6) to 0.01 M with the detection limit of 1.0 mu M.