Chalcogenide glasses as ion-selective materials for solid-state electrochemical sensors

This paper describes a preliminary study of semiconducting chalcogenide glasses an membrane materials for solid-state microelectronic electrodes. Chalcogenide glasses based on arsenic selenide or selenide/telluride, and containing up to 25 mol% of an appropriate metal, have been successfully used as ion-selective electrodes for Cu(11) and Pb(11) ions. They gave a Nernstian response over the range 10-1 M to 10-5 M or 10-6 M and, in the case of the Cu-sensor, were highly reproducible and durable. The ion-selective mechanism is probably a 'redox-like' process involving the exchange of two electrons. (orig.)