Electrochemical recognition of analytes using quaternary ammonium binaphthyl salts

The electrooxidation of quaternary ammonium binaphthyl salts is shown to proceed by a quasi-reversible one-electron process. The oxidation of an aza-crown ether substituted binaphthyl salt is affected by the presence of lithium and sodium ions in solution and there is shown to be a linear relationship between the limiting current for the process and the concentration of Li+ and Na+. The electrochemistry of the binaphthyl salt is also shown to be affected by the addition of organic cations to the solution, showing that these receptors could form the basis of analytical devices which could be made specific to a range of analytes.