CROSS-SENSITIVITY OF CHALCOGENIDE GLASS SENSORS IN SOLUTIONS OF HEAVY-METAL IONS

Electrochemical parameters of sensor response of various chalcogenide glass sensor materials have been studied in solutions of heavy metal c ations. The principle attention have been paid to non-specific sensor response characteristics including cross-sensitivity. The dependence b etween the cation sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor material a nd the nature of glass-former, especially chalcogen, sulphur or seleni um, has been observed. The solid-state chalcogenide glass sensors were included, together with some conventional crystalline sensors into an array (a multisensor system). The array was trained in complex compos ition solutions, containing Cu2+, Pb2+, Cd2+, Zn2+, Cl-, F- and SO42- in concentration typical for industrial waste. It was found that such an approach allows all the species in the mixed solutions to be to det ermined in spite of insufficient selectivity of some sensors. Also, it appeared possible to determine zinc and sulphate for which no selecti ve sensors were present in the array.