Potentiometry and Probes

This chapter discusses some passive potentiometric probes that have been around for many years but are still very important tools in chemical analysis. It surveys important probes that have been recently developed and depend on active electrochemical methods to conduct a measurement. It also refers to passive probes that monitor the difference in electrical potential or voltage, which results from differences in the chemical nature of two solutions connected through a conductive barrier. The chapter reviews the function of a potentiometric probe in measuring the concentration of an analyte under varying conditions. It explains how a potentiometric probe passively measures the voltage difference between two electrodes, noting that the signal obtained from a potentiometric probe is the proportional change in potential as a function of the analyte concentration.