Ceramics Cell for Measuring Electrical Conductivity of Liquid Solution

The present invention relates to a cell for measuring electrical conductivity of liquid having conductivity of 100 k .OMEGA..cm or less, and in particular to a cell for measuring conductivity, which can be used at high temperature or high pressure conditions and in corrosive substances by adopting ceramics for container and electrodes.

In the past, a cell as shown in FIG. 1 has been used for measuring electrical conductivity of liquid having conductivity of 100 k .OMEGA..cm or less.

FIG. 1(a) shows a cell, which comprises a glass container 2 with side tubes 4 protruding inwardly on the sides thereof, electrodes 1 made of precious metal such as platinum and supported on tips of the side tubes, and lead wires 5 passed through the side tubes.

Specimen liquid 6 is placed in the container and a stopper 3 is provided to close it, and electric current is applied across the electrodes to measure electrical conductivity.

FIG. 1(b) shows a filling type cell for laboratory use. On both ends of an oblong glass container 2, electrodes 1 are disposed, and specimen liquid is filled through and discharged from two side tubes 7a and 7b extending upward. By applying electric current across the electrodes on the two ends of the glass container 2, electrical conductivity is measured.

FIG. 1(c) shows an immersion type cell. A glass container 2 has a small opening. By immersing the container in specimen liquid, the liquid enters through the opening. Electrical conductivity is measured by applying electric current across the electrodes.

However, each of the conventional type cells has a problem in corrosion resistant property, particularly against alkali, because glass is used for the container. Also, there are problems with mechanical strength and corrosion resistant property under high temperature and high pressure conditions. If metal other than precious metal is used for electrodes, problems arise with corrosion resistant property. The use of precious metal leads to the increase of cost because Pt, Au, etc. are expensive.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cell, which has high corrosion resistant property and can be used under strong acid or strong alkaline conditions.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cell, which has high mechanical strength and is suitable for the use under high pressure and high temperature conditions.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cell, which can be produced at lower cost.

To attain the above objects, the cell for measuring conductivity according to the present invention uses ceramics with high corrosion resistant property for container and electrodes, whereby the container is made of insulating ceramics, and electrodes are made of conductive ceramics having resistance value of several k .OMEGA..cm or less.

As ceramic materials for electrodes, there are carbides such as TiC, ZrC, VC, TaC, Mo.sub.2 C, WC, SiC, etc., nitrides such as TiN, ZrN, VN, NbN, TaN, Cr.sub.2 N, etc., carbonitride Ti(C-N), borides such as TiB.sub.2, ZrB.sub.2, NbB.sub.2, TaB.sub.2, CrB.sub.2, MoB, etc., silicides such as TiSi.sub.2, ZrSi.sub.2, NbSi.sub.2, CrSi.sub.2, MoSi.sub.2, WSi.sub.2, etc., single conductive ceramic such as TiO.sub.2-x, conductive material such as complex ceramics containing two or more types of these substances, oxynitrides type sialon (a series of substances containing elements of Si-Al-O-N), and complex ceramics with Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, ZrO.sub.2, etc.

As the ceramic materials to be used for the container, there are various types of insulating ceramics such as Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, .alpha.-sialon(Y.sub.x (Si,Al).sub.12 (O,N).sub.16), .beta.-sialon (Si.sub.6-z Al.sub.Z.N.sub.8-z O.sub.z), ZrO.sub.2, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, mullite, spinel, SiC, etc.

With the materials selected from these substances, a cell in cylindrical shape is prepared as shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the reference numeral 1 represents an electrode made of conductive ceramics, 2 is a container made of insulating ceramics, and the electrodes are provided on the sides of the container. To produce such cell, there are various methods such as a method to integrally mold two types of powder materials for container and electrodes and to fabricate and fire, a method to mold the container and the electrodes separately and then to combine them and to fire, a method to mold and fire the container and the electrodes separately and bond with glass-frit having high corrosion resistant property.

The present invention provides a cell for conductivity measurement, which comprises container and electrodes made of ceramics. The ceramics are much superior to glass in corrosion resistant property and mechanical strength under normal as well as high temperature conditions and are less expensive than precious metal. Therefore, the cell for measuring conductivity of the present invention has high corrosion resistant property and can be used under strong acid or strong alkaline conditions. It is also suitable for the use under high pressure and high temperature conditions because it has high mechanical strength. Further, it can be produced at low cost because precious metal is not used for the electrodes. The junction between the container and the electrodes has airtightness as high as 10.sup.-7 Torr or more by He leakage test, and there is no possibility of liquid leakage.

FIG. 1(a-c) illustrates conventional type cells for measuring conductivity;

FIG. 2 shows a cell for measuring conductivity of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows the results of chemical resistance test;

FIG. 4 summarizes mechanical property of the materials; and

FIG. 5 shows electric resistance values of the materials.

FIG. 2 represents an embodiment of a cell for measuring conductivity according to the present invention. .alpha.-sialon is used as insulating ceramics for the container portion 2. As conductive ceramics for the electrodes 1, (1) TiN-dispersed .alpha.-sialon, (2) TiC-dispersed .alpha.-sialon, and (3) SiC-dispersed .alpha.-sialon are used. To prepare raw material powder for the insulating .alpha.-sialon, Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 and AlN were blended by weight ratio of 91:5:4, and the mixture was kneaded in a ball mill for 48 hours with ethanol and was dried. The raw material powder of conductive .alpha.-sialon-TiN in (1) above was prepared by blending Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, AlN and TiN by weight ratio of 54:3:2:41, the raw material powder of the conductive .alpha.-sialon-TiC of (2) above was prepared by blending Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, AlN, TiC and Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 by weight ratio of 54:3:2:40:1, and the raw material powder of the conductive .alpha.-sialon-SiC of (3) above was prepared by blending Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, AlN, SiC and carbon black by weight ratio of 54:3:2:40:1. Each of these mixtures was kneaded in a ball mill for 48 hours with ethanol and was dried. The raw material powder thus prepared was processed by CIP molding at 1,000 kg/cm.sup.2 and was fired for 2 hours at 1,600.degree.-1,950.degree. C. in nitrogen atmosphere to produce sintered substance. The results of chemical resistance test, mechanical property, and electric resistance values of each of the sintered substances of .alpha.-sialon, (1) .alpha.-sialon-TiN, (2) .alpha.-sialon-TiC, and (3) .alpha.-sialon-SiC are given in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 respectively.

FIG. 3 shows the results of chemical resistance test. When the materials were exposed to H.sub.2 SO.sub.4, HCl, HNO.sub.3 (concentration: conc. and 10%; temperature: 80.degree. C.), HF (room temperature), and NaOH (concentration: 50%; temperature: 80.degree. C.), weight decrease (mg/cm.sup.2.day) was slight, and it is evident that each of these materials has very high corrosion resistant property.

FIG. 4 gives 3-point modulus of rupture (kg/mm.sup.2) and fracture toughness (MN/m.sup.1/2) of container material (insulating ceramics) and electrode material (conductive ceramics). It is evident that the materials have very high mechanical strength.

FIG. 5 shows electric resistance values (.OMEGA..cm) of the materials. From the figure, it is evident that the container material has resistance value as high as 10.sup.12 or more, while the electrode material has resistance of 10 or less, showing excellent conductivity. The resistance value may be less than several k .OMEGA..cm.

Each of the raw material powders of .alpha.-sialon, (1) .alpha.-sialon-TiN, (2) .alpha.-sialon-TiC, or (3) .alpha.-sialon-SiC was processed by CIP molding under pressure of 500-1,000 kg/cm.sup.2. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, .alpha.-sialon material was molded into the shape of the container, the materials of (1) .alpha.-sialon-TiN, (2) .alpha.-sialon-TiC, and (3) .alpha.-sialon-SiC were molded into the shape of electrodes, and these were combined together. By sintering the base materials for 2 hours at 1,600.degree.-1,950.degree. C. in nitrogen atmosphere, the cell for conductivity measurement was obtained. The container and the electrodes were bonded closely without gap, and airtightness was as high as 10.sup.-7 Torr or more by He leakage test.

Each of the raw material powders of .alpha.-sialon, (1) .alpha.-sialon-TiN, (2) .alpha.-sialon-TiC, or (3) .alpha.-sialon-SiC was processed by CIP molding under pressure of 1,000 kg/cm.sup.2. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, .alpha.-sialon material was molded into the shape of the container, and the materials of (1) .alpha.-sialon-TiN, (2) .alpha.-sialon-TiC, or (3) .alpha.-sialon-SiC were molded into the shape of electrode, and these were sintered for 2 hours at 1,600.degree.-1,950.degree. C. in nitrogen atmosphere. The sintered materials thus obtained were fabricated in such manner that clearance was 0.1 mm or less when the container and the electrodes were assembled and bonded at 1,000.degree. C. in nitrogen atmosphere using glass having high chemical resistance such as borosilicate frit or titanium frit. The cell thus obtained showed airtightness as high as 10.sup.-7 Torr or more between the container and the electrodes by He leakage test, similarly to Example 1.

As described above, the cell for measuring conductivity according to the present invention has high corrosion resistant property and is suitable for the use under strong acid or strong alkaline conditions. Because it has high mechanical strength, it can be used under high pressure and high temperature conditions. Further, it can be produced at low cost because precious metal is not used for the electrodes. Thus, the cell is very valuable in industrial applications.