Monomer selection and preparation

The selection of appropriate monomers requires a knowledge of ion association. Since selectivity is of primary interest in sensor development, the complexation need not be overly large as long as a substantial difference exists between the target and most other ions. A very useful compilation of association data is found in 

Sillen and Martell s Stability constants of metal-ion complexes [1]. This compilation is sufficiently comprehensive to show data for a variety of ligands and generally includes either the proposed ligand or a very similar compound. There is also sufficient information to investigate selectivity for a diverse collection of metals, providing clues to selectivity. Other compendia of data are available, such as the CRC handbook and Yatsimirskii and Vasiliev s, Instability constants of complex compounds [2]. An especially useful source of data on complex compounds is Gmelin and Meyer [3]. 

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