Robust, Ion-Selective Thick-Film Sensors for Long Term Field Deployment

陆上水道和水系中所有水的来源是雨水，而雨水又主要是由于海洋蒸发而产生的。因此，毫不奇怪，陆地水体中存在的最丰富的电活性物种是氯离子，尽管氯的浓度随着距离海洋的距离而变化。因此，氯化物传感器对水文学来说将是一种无价的工具，因为它提供了一种直接和简单的方法来跟踪和绘制水流通过地形的情况。此外，选择性和经过考虑的氯传感器(网络)的空间分布将能够定量测量不同土壤类型的氯保留能力，因此是土壤科学家的有用工具。此外，氯化物传感器提供了土壤盐分的定性测量；这是农业管理的一个特别重要的指标。此外，在植物一级，一组微型的氯离子传感器将有助于实时研究根根际的氯离子通量，从而实现新的生物科学。环境中存在的其他主要物种包括硝酸盐，它可以被视为有益的，也可以被视为污染物，具体取决于其位置和浓度。目前，不可能在现场实时可靠地测量硝酸盐。硝酸盐传感器在农业、土壤科学和植物科学领域具有明显的效益。同样，在根水平，它允许实时测量进出植物的营养通量。我们将使用厚膜丝网印刷技术来生产一系列传感器，相对于集成的参考电极测量氯离子和硝酸根离子。

The source of all water in land based water courses and water systems is rain, which in turn predominantly arises due to evaporation from seas and oceans. It is therefore not surprising that the most abundant electroactive species present in land based water bodies is the chloride ion although the concentration of chloride varies with the distance from the sea. A chloride sensor would therefore be an invaluable tool for hydrology since it offers a direct and simple method to track and map the flow of water as it moves through the terrain. Moreover selective and considered spatial distribution of chloride sensors (networks) will enable quantitative measures of the chloride retention capacity of different soil types and is therefore a useful tool for soil scientists. Furthermore, a chloride sensor gives a qualitative measure of soil salinity; a particularly important indicator for agricultural management. In addition, at the plant level a miniaturised array of chloride sensors would facilitate real-time studies of chloride fluxes in the root rhizosphere enabling new bioscience to be achieved. Other major species present in the environment include nitrate, which can be viewed as beneficial or as a contaminant depending on its location and concentration. Currently it is not possible to measure nitrate reliably in the field in real-time. A nitrate sensor has obvious benefits in the fields of agriculture, soil science and plant science. Again, at the root level it allows real-time measurements of nutrient fluxes to and from the plant.We shall use thick-film screen printing technology to produce an array of sensors that measure chloride ions and nitrate ions with respect to an integrated reference electrode.