A high-sensitivity hydrogen gas sensor based on carbon nanotubes fabricated on SiO2 substrate

The effect of operating temperature on characteristics of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) based gas sensor was investigated. SWNT-based sensor was fabricated from SWNT powder (Iljin Nanotech, Korea) by screen-printing method. SWNT powder (30 mg, AP grade) was dispersed into 0.78 gram a-terpineol (Aldrich) by ultrasonic vibration for 1 hour then stirred manually for 1 hour to increase adhesion. From this condensed solution, a thick film of SWNT was printed onto alumina substrates. The film then was sintered at 300oC for 2 hours to remove residual impurities. Upon exposure to some gases such as nitrogen, ammonia or nitric oxide, resistance of the sensor dramatically changes due to gas adsorption. In our experiments, SWNT-based sensor was employed to detect NH3 gas in N2 ambience. After saturated of N2, the sensor exposes to NH3 with various concentrations (from 5 ppm to 100 ppm, diluted by N2 as carrier gas). This sensor exhibits a fast response, high sensitivity but slow recovery at room temperature. By heating at high temperature and increasing the flow-rate of carrier gas, NH3 gas desorbs easily and recovery of the sensor improved. The heating also influenced the characteristics of sensors such as response and reproducibility. Other special changes in electric property of SWNT-based sensor caused by heating are also discussed.

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Micro Hydrogen Gas Sensor Based on Bi-Te Film Couples and Pt/ACC

First International Conference on Integration and Commercialization of Micro and Nanosystems, Parts A and B ◽

10.1115/mnc2007-21607 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

Hu Huang ◽

Jian-Song Zhang ◽

Weiling Luan ◽

Shan-Tung Tu ◽

Shang-Kuo Yang

Keyword(s):

Gas Sensor ◽

Hydrogen Oxidation ◽

Exothermic Reaction ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Rf Magnetron Sputtering ◽

Energy System ◽

Hydrogen Gas ◽

Activated Carbon Fiber ◽

Thin Glass

TE (Thermoelectric) materials have been widely used in clean energy system as low-power generator and Peliter cooler, due to its salient features of being compact, light-weighted, noiseless in operation, highly reliable, and environment friendly. Recently, another application has been explored on TE materials as gas sensors based on Seebeck effect and exothermic reaction of hydrogen oxidation on catalyst. In this paper, a TE hydrogen gas sensor with a simple structure, low energy consumption and a high sensitivity was reported. Bi-Te (bismuth telluride) with a high Seebeck coefficient at room-temperature was deposited onto thin glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technology. Four pairs of PN film couples were connected in series to improve the output voltage. Pt/ ACC (Activated Carbon Fiber Cloth) was mounted at the joint of PN couples, acting as catalyst so as to accelerate the oxidation of hydrogen. The influences of reduction temperature and Pt content on the generated temperature difference were investigated. The voltage output and selectivity to combustible gas mixture were measured. Experimental results showed that when exposed to 3vol% H2/ air, as-prepared sensor gave out a high output signal of 33.1mV, and the response time was about 50s with recovery time of 50s.

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