For about one hundred years, potentiometry with ion-selective electrodes has been one of the dominating electroanalytical techniques. While great advances in terms of selective chemistries and materials have been achieved in recent years, the basic manner in which ion-selective membranes are used has not fundamentally changed. The potential readings are directly co-dependent on the potential at the reference electrode, which requires maintenance and for which very few accepted alternatives have been proposed. Fouling or clogging of the exposed electrode surfaces will lead to changes in the observed potential. At the same time, the Nernst equation predicts quite small potential changes, on the order of millivolts for concentration changes on the order of a factor two, making frequent recalibration, accurate temperature control and electrode maintenance key requirements of routine analytical measurements. While the relatively advanced selective materials developed for ion-selective sensors would be highly attractive for low power remote sensing application, one should consider solutions beyond classical potentiometry to make this technology practically feasible. This paper evaluates some recent examples that may be attractive solutions to the stated problems that face potentiometric measurements. These include high amplitude sensing approaches, with sensitivities that are order of magnitude larger than predicted on the Nernst equation; backside calibration potentiometry, where knowledge of the magnitude of the potential is irrelevant and the system is evaluated from the backside of the membrane; controlled current coulometry with ionselective membranes, an attractive technique for calibration free reagent delivery without the need for standards or volumetry; localized electrochemical titrations at ion-selective membranes, making it possible to design sensors that directly monitor parameters such as total acidity for which volumetric techniques were traditionally used; and controlled potential coulometry, where all ions of interest are selectively transferred into the ion-selective organic phase, forming a calibration free technique that would be exquisitely suitable for remote sensing applications.
KeywordsIon-selective electrodes; chemical sensors; reference electrode; calibration free; coulometry; remote sensing
Direct Potentiometry: The State of the Art and Promise for Remote SensingIon-selective electrodes are among the oldest known types of chemical sensors [1]. In most cases, an ion-selective membrane separates the sample from an inner solution, and the electromotive force between reference electrodes in the aqueous sample and the inner solution Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the p...