Solid State Ionics, Vol.179, No.27-32, 1645-1647, 2008
Influence of the sensitive zeolite material on the characteristics of a potentiometric hydrocarbon gas sensor
The voltage response of Na-ZSM-5 zeolite/Au electrodes with different Si/Al ratios is measured in dependence of propane partial pressure in O-2/CO2/N-2 atmospheres at 723 K. A mixture of two NaxCoO2 phases serves as a reference electrode. The zeolites with higher Si/Al ratios lead to higher sensitivities to propane at low concentrations (<1000 ppm). It is shown that this is in accordance with the assumption of a sensor effect caused by changes of the Na+ ion activity due to sorption of propane in the zeolite micropores. The response times to propane concentration steps decrease with increasing propane concentration. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.