Procedure for monitoring chloride content in porous materials

The final outcome of the developed work has been a new electrochemical sensor with high durability and reliability, applicable for use in porous materials such as concrete and mortar. A method has been optimized to monitor the chloride content in these media when the sensor is embedded in them. These sensors apply a potentiodynamic excitation signal in the potential range where the reaction of interest occurs. From the processing and analysis of the electric current obtained as a response, the chloride content of the electrolyte in which the sensor is embedded is estimated. The voltammetric-type Chloride sensor can be prepared using metals such as silver, whose ionic forms create poorly soluble compounds with the species intended for detection. This is based on the fact that the current intensity of the peaks related to the formation/reduction of the ionic compound formed with the Chloride anion varies with the concentration in the medium and the high reactivity shown by the cations generated during the electrochemically induced oxidation process of the metallic electrode in the presence of chlorides.