Copper as a replacement of lead as an anodic material of galvanic oxygen sensor

Abstract

Attempts to improve the amperometric oxygen sensors of the galvanic type remain relevant because of their advantages: the ability to function without energy consumption, constant readiness for measurements, the ability to quickly go into working mode after overloads or complete shutdown from the measuring system. One of the drawbacks of such sensors in the Clark system is the presence of a consumable anode of toxic lead. For the first time, the possibility of replacing lead with a significantly less toxic material is shown. The choice of copper as a promising anode material for galvanic type oxygen sensors according to Pourbaix diagrams is theoretically justified. It has been experimentally confirmed that the kinetics of the oxidation of copper in the alkaline electrolyte of the Clarke cell allows it to become a full-fledged replacement of lead and its alloys in galvanic-type oxygen sensors.