AbstractBACKGROUNDIn this study, the ion‐selective electrode (ISE) based on ion‐imprinted polymer (IIP) for the determination of phosphate has been described. For selective recognition of IIP, phosphate (analyte–template), chitosan and N‐(2‐aminoethyl)‐3‐aminopropyl‐trimethoxysilan (AAPTS) (functional monomers), ephychlorohydrin and tetraethoxysilicate (TEOS) (cross‐linking agents) were used.RESULTSThe electrode was prepared using the IIP. The IIP‐1‐, IIP‐2‐ and IIP‐3‐based membranes showed a detection limit of 7.6 × 10−6, 5.1 × 10−6 and 2.5.10−7 mol L−1, respectively. Attractive features of these IIP‐based ion‐selective electrodes are a rather low detection limit and high selectivity compared with other phosphate molecules.CONCLUSIONThe proposed method has been applied successfully to analyze phosphate in household waste samples with recoveries of ≥90%. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).