gas sensing electrode

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.