Chapter 5
Applications
Course notes
5.1 – Electrochemical sensors
5.1.1 – Definition and characteristics
An electrochemical sensor is a device that is capable of detecting variations in
quantities related to a chemical species in a given phase (e.g., concentration,
partial pressure, molar fraction). Such sensors generally consist of an active
layer that can recognize and interact with the species and that is associated with
a transducer capable of transforming the interaction into an electrical signal. The
signal may be potentiometric, amperometric, conductometric, … The quantities
measured are the concentrations (activities) of ionic species (H 3 O
+
, Na
+
, Cl
−
)
and the partial pressures of gaseous species (O 2 , H 2 , CO 2 , H 2 O vapor, …).
Electrochemical sensors fulfill sufficiently well the requisite conditions in terms
of stability, selectivity, response time, and reversibility. On the practical and
economic level, they are robust, simple, inexpensive, convenient, and have an
acceptable lifetime. They are used in particular for
2 industrial-process engineering: metallurgy, plastics processing;
2 the environment: analysis of effluents, water, soil, and air;
2 automobile industry: battery charge level, analyze exhaust gas;
2 medicine: diagnostics;
2 security: leaks of toxic or noxious gases.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
A. Hammou and S. Georges, Solid-State Electrochemistry,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39659-6_5
205
Applications
Course notes
5.1 – Electrochemical sensors
5.1.1 – Definition and characteristics
An electrochemical sensor is a device that is capable of detecting variations in
quantities related to a chemical species in a given phase (e.g., concentration,
partial pressure, molar fraction). Such sensors generally consist of an active
layer that can recognize and interact with the species and that is associated with
a transducer capable of transforming the interaction into an electrical signal. The
signal may be potentiometric, amperometric, conductometric, … The quantities
measured are the concentrations (activities) of ionic species (H 3 O
+
, Na
+
, Cl
−
)
and the partial pressures of gaseous species (O 2 , H 2 , CO 2 , H 2 O vapor, …).
Electrochemical sensors fulfill sufficiently well the requisite conditions in terms
of stability, selectivity, response time, and reversibility. On the practical and
economic level, they are robust, simple, inexpensive, convenient, and have an
acceptable lifetime. They are used in particular for
2 industrial-process engineering: metallurgy, plastics processing;
2 the environment: analysis of effluents, water, soil, and air;
2 automobile industry: battery charge level, analyze exhaust gas;
2 medicine: diagnostics;
2 security: leaks of toxic or noxious gases.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
A. Hammou and S. Georges, Solid-State Electrochemistry,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39659-6_5
205