Abstract
A possibility of the implementation of a quartz crystal sensor to the determination of chemical oxygen demand is examined by checking the electrochemical behavior of the sensor in a glucose solution. Since the surface of a quartz crystal has to be oxidized, a relatively active metal is coated on the surface of a usual 9 MHz AT-cut crystal. The electrochemical behavior is investigated by measuring the changes of current, resonant frequency and resonant resistance while a constant potential is applied. The crystal is installed in a specially designed container, and a quartz crystal analyzer is utilized to measure the frequency and resistance simultaneously. The variations of the measurements are examined at different concentrations of glucose solution, and a proper relation between the concentrations of glucose solution, and a proper relation between the concentration and the measurements is analyzed. As a result, it is found that a linear relation between the concentration of less than 900 ppm and the peak current when a constant potential of -180 mV (SSCE) is applied. The relation can be utilized for the determination of glucose concentration in sea water, and considering a direct relation between gluose concentration and chemical oxygen demand tells a possibility of the measurement of chemical oxygen demand using quartz crystal oscillators.