POTENTIOMETRIC SENSORS, FOR ANALYTICAL PURPOSES HAVE RECEIVED PARTICULAR ATTENTION DUE TO THEIR HIGH SENSITIVITY AND SELECTIVITY, SIMPLE INSTRUMENTATION, AS WELL AS LOW PRODUCTION COST.POTENTIOMETRIC SENSORS (ISE SENSORS) FACILITATE SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE AND RAPID DETECTION OF MANY COMPOUNDS, WHICH ARE IMPORTANT IN MEDICINE, ENVIRONMENT AND FOOD APPLICATIONS.POTENTIOMETRY IS A VERY SIMPLE ELECTROCHEMICAL TECHNIQUE WITH EXTRAORDINARY ANALYTICAL CAPABILITIES. IT IS ALSO WELL KNOWN THAT NANOTECHNOLOGY HAS RECENTLY BECOME ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING FOREFRONT FIELDS IN SENSORS FABRICATION. THE COMBINATION OF THE TWO FIELDS OF POTENTIOMETRY AND NANOMATERIALS IS THEREFORE A PROMISING AREA OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.IN RECENT YEARS, NUMEROUS ELECTROCHEMICAL SENSORS HAVE BEEN REPORTED USING A VARIETY OF NANOMATERIALS SUCH AS METAL NANOPARTICLES, AND CARBON NANOTUBES. IN THIS REPORT, WE EXPLAIN THE FUNDAMENTALS OF POTENTIOMETRIC DEVICES THAT INCORPORATE NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS AND WE HIGHLIGHT THE ADVANTAGES AND DRAWBACKS OF COMBINING NANOMATERIALS AND POTENTIOMETRY.THE REPORT PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE OF NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS IN THE ION-SELECTIVE ELECTRODES. ADDITIONALLY, WE PROVIDE A FEW RECENT EXAMPLES OF NEW POTENTIOMETRIC SENSORS THAT ARE BASED ON RECEPTORS IMMOBILIZED DIRECTLY ONTO THE NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIAL SURFACE.

THE USE OF ULTRASOUND IS NOW WIDESPREAD. A POWERFUL CONVECTION CAN BE GENERATED BY ULTRASONIC CAVITATION AND ACOUSTIC STREAMING IS KNOWN TO ACCELERATE HETEROGENEOUS PROCESSES ON THE INTERFACES BY PROMOTING MASS TRANSPORT. WHEN ULTRASONIC WAVES PASS THROUGH SOME SOLUTIONS, THE NANOMATERIALS EITHER PRECIPITATE OR FORM A COLLOIDAL SOLUTION AT THE END OF SONICATION. PREPARATION OF DIFFERENT NANOMATERIALS BY ULTRASOUND SHOWS SEVERAL ADVANTAGES OVER OTHER METHODS.SEMICONDUCTOR PARTICLES IN PHOTOCATALYSIS HAVE FOUND INCREASING INTEREST TO SOLVE GLOBAL POLLUTION PROBLEMS [1]. THE GENERATION OF PHOTON FOR THE DETOXIFICATION OF POLLUTED WATER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF COST. THEREFORE, THE USE OF THE SUN AS AN ECONOMICALLY AND ECOLOGICALLY SENSIBLE LIGHT SOURCE IS VITAL. THE SOLAR PHOTOCATALYSIS HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT ISSUE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DURING THE PAST TWO DECADES. AN OVERVIEW ON SOME OF THE RECENT AUTHOR'S LABORATORY ACTIVITIES [2-5] WILL DISCUSS ON THE SYNTHESIS OF SOME NANOCATALYSTS BY ULTRASOUND AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN SOLAR PHOTOCATALYSIS.

OXIDES AND FLUORITES WITH THE GENERAL FORMULA OF A2B2O7 (WHERE A IS A MEDIUM-LARGE CATIONAND B IS AN OCTAHEDRALLY COORDINATED, HIGH CHARGE CATION) HAVE BEEN WIDELY STUDIED FOR THEIR GREAT TECHNOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OWING TO THEIR FERROELECTRIC AND / OR MAGNETIC, IONIC CONDUCTORS...