CHEMICAL SENSOR

Sensors and Sensor Science, Chemical Sensors, Chemical Equilibrium, Kinetics and
Catalysis, Electrolytic Solutions, Acid and Bases, deposition Processes and Complex
Compounds, Redox Equilibria, Electrochemistry, Ion Exchange, Solvent Extraction and
Adsorption Equilibria. Special Features of Biochemical Reactions. classification of
chemical sensors; Mass-Sensitive Sensors; Conductivity sensors; Electrochemical sensors
 INTRODUCTION
• Our world is changing rapidly, and sensors play an important role in this
process. Sensors like mobile phones, compact discs or personal computers
belong to the modern world. The term ‘sensor’ is easily understood.
• People may imagine a sensor similar to a sensing organ or a tentacle of an ant.
• Chemical sensors, as a special variety of sensors. EXP.
• A generation ago, the word sensor was not widely used. Today, however,
sensors are becoming ubiquitous in our daily lives.
• Chemical sensors analyze our environment.
• chemical sensors can be considered artificial noses or artificial tongues.
• We see many similarities between living organisms and machines when we
compare how modern sensors and living organisms acquire and process
signals.
Signal processing in living
organisms and in intelligent
machines
• Sensors should:
• Be in direct contact with the investigated subject,
• Transform non-electric information into electric signals,
• Respond quickly,
• Operate continuously or at least in repeated cycles,
• Be small, & cheap.
• The following characteristics of chemical sensors are generally accepted.
Chemical sensors should:
• Transform chemical quantities into electrical signals,
• Respond rapidly,
• Maintain their activity over a long time period,
• Be small, & cheap,
• Be specific, i.e. they should respond exclusively to one analyte, or at least be
selective to a group of analytes.

• The above list could be extended with, e.g., the postulation of a low detection
limit, or a high sensitivity. This means that low-concentration values should be
detected.
 Classification

• According to the working principle, the chemical sensor can be classified into
many types such as optical, electrochemical, mass, magnetic, and thermal.
• The optical chemical sensor is based on the changes in optical phenomena
analysis arising from the interaction between the analyte and the receiver.
• The electrochemical sensor utilizes an electrochemical effect among the
analytes and featured electrodes.
• The working principle of the mass sensor depends on the quality change
induced by the mass loading from the adsorption toward the analyte by the
special modification of the sensor surface.
• The magnetic device is based on the magnetic properties in analyte
adsorption.
• whereas the thermal sensor utilizes the thermal effect generated by the
specific chemical reaction or adsorption process
• Another way to categorize the chemical sensors is based on the object to be
detected, that is,
• the chemical sensors can be classified as gas sensors for trace gas analysis and
monitoring,
• various ion sensors represented by the pH sensor, humidity sensor, and
biosensors made by biological characteristics
• It is well known that environmental monitoring is the major application field
of the chemical sensor, therein, the gas sensor plays a pivotal role.
• The key performance indicators of the gas sensor include sensitivity,
selectivity, and stability, which are determined mainly by the characteristics of
the sensing material and mechanism.
• Classification of chemical sensors based on sensing objects