A sensor composed of an indicator and a reference electrode in contact with a thin film of solution which is separated from the bulk of the sample solution by a gas-permeable membrane or an air gap. This intermediate solution interacts with the gaseous species (penetrated through the membrane or an air gap) in such a way as to produce a change in a measured constituent (e.g. the
H+ activity) of the intermediate solution. This change is then sensed by the ion-selective electrode and is related to the partial pressure of the gaseous species in the sample. [Note: In electrochemical literature the term gas electrode is used for the classical, redox-equilibrium-based gas electrodes as well, such as the hydrogen or the chlorine gas electrodes (
Pt (s)|
H2 (g) |
H+ (aq) or
Pt (s) |
Cl2 (g) |
Cl− (aq)]. These electrodes respond both to the partial pressure of the gas (
H2 or
Cl2 ) and to the ionic activities (
H+ or
Cl−). The Clark oxygen electrode fits under this classification although, in contrast to other gas sensors, it is an amperometric and not a potentiometric device.
Source:
PAC, 1994, 66, 2527. 'Recommendations for nomenclature of ionselective electrodes (IUPAC Recommendations 1994)' on page 2534 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199466122527)