Multi-flow-through sensor for simultaneous cation determination

The activity of several metal ions can be detected potentiometrically using glass electrode measuring chains, which have normally a cylindrical design. To analyse different cations simultaneously, on one hand several single indicator electrodes can be integrated in a prefabricated flow-through equipment, where they can be measured versus electrochemical reference electrodes. On the other hand, by principle it is possible to construct tubular flow-through electrodes. In the present case, glass electrodes are double-walled, so that the liquid internal reference system consisting of reference solution and reference element can be placed.In the case of multi-analysis, for constructional reasons it would be necessary to combine several of such flow-through electrodes by complicated connecting elements. In this paper a multi-flow-through electrode is described, which can be fabricated in one piece by substitution of the liquid by a solid reference half cell. The contact of ion-selective glasses with semiconducting zinc oxide leads to a reversible phase interface, so that a high stability of the individual half cell potentials is achieved. Nearly all electrode properties are in a good agreement with those of traditional cation selective electrodes. The pH electrodes, for example, exhibit almost linear response in a range of pH 1–10 with a slope of 57–59 mV/pH at θ = 25 °C.