Photocatalytic sensor for chemical oxygen demand determination based on oxygen electrode

The construction and performance evaluation of a novel Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) sensor is described. The sensor measures, using an oxygen electrode, a decrease of dissolved oxygen of a given sample resulting from photocatalytic oxidation of the organic compounds therein. As the photocatalyst, titanium dioxide (TiO2) fine particles adsorbed on a translucent poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) membrane was used. The oxygen electrode with the membrane attached on its tip was used as the sensor probe. The operation characteristics of the sensor are demonstrated using an artificial wastewater and real water samples from lakes in Japan. This method is considered to be reliable, in that the observed parameter is close to the theoretical definition of chemical oxygen demand (COD), the amount of oxygen consumed for oxidation of organic compounds.     

The influence of the type of filling gas on the response of ionisation chambers to a mixed high-energy radiation field

Radiation protection dosimetry in radiation fields behind the shielding of high-energy accelerators such as CERN is a challenging task and the quantitative understanding of the detector response used for dosimetry is essential. Measurements with ionisation chambers are a standard method to determine absorbed dose (in the detector material). For applications in mixed radiation fields, ionisation chambers are often also calibrated in terms of ambient dose equivalent at conventional reference radiation fields. The response of a given ionisation chamber to the various particle types of a complex high-energy radiation field in terms of ambient dose equivalent depends of course on the materials used for the construction and the chamber gas used. This paper will present results of computational studies simulating the exposure of high-pressure ionisation chambers filled with different types of gases to the radiation field at CERN's CERN-EU high-energy reference field facility. At this facility complex high-energy radiation fields, similar to those produced by cosmic rays at flight altitudes, are produced. The particle fluence and spectra calculated with FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations have been benchmarked in several measurements. The results can be used to optimise the response of ionisation chambers for the measurement of ambient dose equivalent in high-energy mixed radiation fields.     

Factors affecting the potentiometric response of all-solid-state solvent polymeric membrane calcium-selective electrode for low-level measurements

An all-solid-state calcium-selective electrode was constructed with poly(pyrrole) solid-contact doped with calcium complexing ligand Tiron. The potentiometric response of this sensor can have a linear range down to 10(-)(9) M with a slope close to Nernstian and detection limit equal to 10(-)(9.6). The effects of pH and the activity of the interfering ion in the conditioning solution on the potentiometric behavior of the constructed sensors were examined. Potential stability, reproducibility, and impedance studies were performed. The selectivity of the constructed electrode is better than that of the conventional calcium-selective electrode with internal filling solution of 10(-)(2) M CaCl(2) and comparable to that of the best liquid-contact electrodes.     

TiO_2基氧化物半导体氧敏传感器的研究开发进展

综合介绍 TiO2基氧化物半导体氧敏传感器的研究发展历史和 TiO2材料的特性,比较了各 种氧敏机理、制备方法、传感器的氧敏特性,就制备方法－材料微观结构－氧敏性能关系中的几 个重要问题,进行了深入的探讨,并对今后的研究开发与产业化,结合本课题组的研究工作,提出 了几点建议。     

TiO2基氧化物半导体氧敏传感器的研究开发进展

综合介绍TiO2基氧化物半导体氧敏传感器的研究发展历史和TiO2材料的特性,比较了各种氧敏机理、制备方法、传感器的氧敏特性,就制备方法－材料微观结构－氧敏性能关系中的几个重要问题,进行了深入的探讨,并对今后的研究开发与产业化,结合本课题组的研究工作,提出了几点建议。     

Influence of electrode material on properties of SnO2-based gas sensor

The influence of electrode material on the properties of oxide semiconductor gas sensor was studied. SnO₂ thick films were printed on top of Au and Pt electrodes on alumina substrate using screen-printing technique. The gap between the electrodes was made narrow (approx. 5 μm) to emphasize the effects, which the electrodes might have on the overall conductance and gas-sensing properties of the sensor, at different temperatures. Laser micromachining was used in the fabrication of the electrode structure with the narrow gap. Temperature-stimulated conductance measurements were carried out in different ambient atmosphere conditions in order to have information about the effects that the electrode materials have on the overall sensor conductance. Many different gases at different concentrations in synthetic air were used in the experiments. It is possible to conclude from the results that the interface between the electrode and sensing material has a very important role for the sensing mechanism of tin dioxide gas sensors.     

Dynamic response of a semiconductor gas sensor analysed with the help of fuzzy logic

Semiconductor gas sensors are essentially not selective to detect a single chemical species in a gaseous mixture and also the response of the sensor in most cases is influenced by the variations of ambient humidity and temperature. One of the solutions is the analysis of the dynamic response of a single sensor with modulated temperature. For the non-linear output signal the fast Fourier transform transform was calculated. The zero-order amplitude and the phases of higher harmonics were selected. These quantities served as input data for the fuzzy model of the sensor. The hybrid fuzzy sensor model, based essentially on Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) theory, comprised a two-level optimization algorithm. The authors elaborated that algorithm, utilizing conjugate gradient and genetic algorithm methods. At the output of the fuzzy model the concentrations of ethanol with minimized influence of humidity variations were obtained.     

Uniform ZnO nanorods can be used to improve the response of ZnO gas sensor

Uniform ZnO nanorods were synthesized in high-yield by using metal zinc powder as zinc source via a one-step facile hydrothermal process under mild conditions, in which cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) with ordered chain structures acted as the conversion of Zn powder into ZnO nanorods. The characterization results show that the as-synthesized products were structurally uniform and have diameters of 40–80 nm. Gas sensing properties studies show that ZnO nanorods exhibit more excellent response and stability to ethanol than that of ZnO nanoparticles. After working continuously for 50 days, the sensitivity of ZnO nanorods still retained 7.3, whereas, the ZnO nanoparticles showed only 1.0. The facile preparation method and the improved properties derived from typical rods-like nanostructure are significant for the future applications of gas sensing material.     

New approach towards preparation of efficient gas diffusion-type oxygen reduction electrode

A novel method by combining NAC-FAS (NAnometer-sized Crystal Formation in Alcoholic Solutions) method and mechanical milling treatment was successfully applied for dispersing perovskite type oxide LaMnO₃ finely on carbon support. Microscopic observation revealed that nano-sized oxide particles were dispersed fairly well in the carbon support. The gas diffusion-type electrode prepared by means of reducing number and quantity of chemicals exhibited more excellent oxygen reduction activity than the electrodes containing LaMnO₃ prepared by RHP (Reverse Homogeneous Precipitation) method. It allowed current density as high as 300 mA cm⁻² at −80 mV (vs. Hg/HgO) in 8 M KOH at 60 °C under air flow.     

基于均匀设计及非线性偏最小二乘法的非闭合电极ECT传感器参数优化设计

提出了一种非闭合电极电容层析成像(ECT)传感器结构参数的优化方法.采用均匀设计结合非线性偏最小二乘(NPLS)回归,提取传感器结构参数(电极极板的宽度 L、绝缘外壳的壁厚δ1.、屏蔽罩与绝缘外壳间距δ2及绝缘外壳材料的相对介电常数ε)与待优化指标(敏感场的均匀度及灵敏度指标p1、最大与最小电容的比值 K)间的函数关系,建立相应的优化目标泛函,通过对优化目标泛函的求解,最终获得传感器结构参数的最优值.并以 10 电极非闭合电极 ECT 传感器为研究对象,进行了结构参数的优化设计,根据优化结果设计制作了非闭合电极 ECT 传感器,对其成像进行了仿真与实测.结果表明,参数优化后的传感器图像重建质量优于未优化的传感器.     

New potentiometric sensor for the determination of iodine species

The characteristics, performance and application of novel triiodide potentiometric sensor based on ion-pair of Rhodamine B triiodide as a membrane carrier are described. The electrode has a linear dynamic range between 1 × 10^? 6 and 1 × 10^? 1 M, with a Nernstian slope of 68 ± 1 mV pC^? 1 and detection limit of 3.9 × 10^? 7 M. Fast and stable response, good reproducibility, long-term stability, very good selectivity over a large number of common organic and inorganic anions, applicability over a pH range of 2–10 are demonstrated. The proposed sensor has been applied for potentiometric determination of some iodine species.     

Effect of oxygen exposure on the electrical conductivity and gas sensitivity of nanostructured ZnO films

Nanostructured ZnO films (undoped and Ga, Co, Mn doped) were exposed to oxygen (1-80 vol.%) at temperature range of 300-500 °С in order to reveal the ambience-temperature effect on the electrical conductivity. The dominant effect of ambient influence via oxygen absorption was observed: the intensity of conductivity decrease was found to be proportional with temperature and tends to saturate with time. It is demonstrated that oxygen absorption occurs accordingly to diffusion law and the quantifying of oxygen diffusion was realized for different samples. It is revealed that the type of dopant affects the diffusion in ZnO and the tendency to increase the diffusion intensity with dopant content has been observed. After oxygen saturation the reversible effect of oxygen adsorption became dominant and contributed to the film's conductivity. Oxygen exposure undoped ZnO films revealed high sensitivity for oxygen content change in the ambience therefore they have been preceded further for gas sensor design and the detailed investigation of film's sensing properties has been carried out.     

Nanoparticles of antimony doped tin dioxide as a liquid petroleum gas sensor: effect of size on sensitivity

The gas sensitivity exhibited by nanoparticles of 1 wt% Pd catalysed antimony doped tin dioxide (ATO) prepared by a citrate-nitrate process is reported here. The reduction of particle size to <3 nm, a dimension smaller than double the thickness of the charge depletion layer, has resulted in an exceptionally high butane sensitivity and selectivity. The sensitivity and selectivity of ATO particles of different sizes unequivocally proved that reducing the size of particles to below twice the Debye length dimension produces materials with exceptionally high sensitivity and selectivity for sensor applications. The sensitivity of the samples towards 1000 ppm butane varied in the order 98%>55%>47%, for CNP>SP>CP samples having crystallite sizes of the order of 2.4 nm to 18 nm to 25 nm, respectively. The ATO nanoparticles exhibited not only a remarkable increase in gas sensitivity of around 98% towards 1000 ppm butane at 350?°C, but also a preferential selectivity to butane compared to other gases such as CO, CO2, SO2, CH4 and H2. In addition to the exceptionally high sensitivity and selectivity, the developed sensors also exhibited an improved response time and long term stability, which are of paramount importance for practical device development.     

A superoxide sensor based on a multilayer cytochrome c electrode

A novel multilayer cytochrome c electrode for the quantification of superoxide radical concentrations is introduced. The electrode consists of alternating layers of cytochrome c and poly(aniline(sulfonic acid)) on a gold wire electrode. The formation of multilayer structures was proven by SPR experiments. Assemblies with 2-15 protein layers showed electrochemical communication with the gold electrode. For every additional layer, a substantial increase in electrochemically active cytochrome c (cyt. c) was found. For electrodes of more than 10 layers, the increase was more than 1 order of magnitude as compared to monolayer electrode systems. Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of the electrodes were characterized. The mechanism of electron transfer within the multilayer assembly was studied, with results suggesting a protein-protein electron-transfer model. Electrodes of 2-15 layers were applied to the in vitro quantification of enzymatically generated superoxide, showing superior sensitivity as compared to a monolayer-based sensor. An electrode with 6 cyt. c/PASA layers showed the highest sensitivity of the systems studied, giving an increase in sensitivity of half an order of magnitude versus the that of the monolayer electrode. The stability of the system was optimized using thermal treatment, resulting in no loss in sensor signal or protein loading after 10 successive measurements or 2 days of storage.     

Photoelectric response mechanisms dependent on RuN3 and CuPc sensitized ZnO nanoparticles to oxygen gas

ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple mild solution method. Spectral sensitization of nanocrystalline ZnO was carried out with [Ru(dcbpy)(2)(NCS)(2) (dcbyp = 2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylate)] (RuN3) and CuPc. The electron transfer behaviours at the surface and interface in ZnO/RuN3 and ZnO/CuPc were investigated using a surface photocurrent technique. When exposed to oxygen gas, the surface photocurrent (I(SPC)) responses of ZnO/RuN3 and ZnO/CuPc decreased and increased, respectively. The results demonstrated through the adsorption of oxygen gas that there are different microscopic mechanisms for the surface charges. The microscopic processes of electron transfer between oxygen molecules and dye-sensitized ZnO are discussed in detail in this paper. Such research should be valuable for fundamental science and optoelectronic device application of ZnO nanoparticles.     

Impedimetric and potentiometric investigation of a sulfate anion-selective electrode: experiment and simulation

A new anion-selective polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane electrode based on {6,6'-diethoxy-2,2'-[2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diylbis(nitrilomethylidyne)]diphenolato}nickel(II)monohydrate as a carrier for the sulfate anion is reported. In this work, a new strategy for optimizing membrane components by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is presented. The performance of this electrode was investigated using potentiometric and EIS techniques. The potentiometric results indicated that the prepared electrode had a Nernstian slope of -28.9 ± 0.1 mV in a linear concentrations range of 1.0 × 10(-6) to 3.0 × 10(-1) M, a detection limit of 6.3 × 10(-7) M, an applied pH range of 4.0-9.0, and a response time of less than 15 s; while using the EIS technique, the linear concentrations range was 1.0 × 10(-9) to 1.0 × 10(-1) M and the pH range increased to 4.0-10.0. Finally, the impedance spectra were simulated using the Maple 13 software. A comparison of the experimental data and information obtained from the simulation confirmed the accuracy of the impedance measurement of this electrode.     

The effect of electrode films on the electrical resistance of thin tin films

The variation in resistance of thin films of tin deposited onto glass substrates was studied using pre-deposited gold, silver, aluminum and tin electrodes. The percentage variation in resistance of the tin films was found to be different for the different electrode materials. The structural features of the tin-electrode film junctions were investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopes. The difference between the variations in resistance with time for different electrode films is explained on the basis of interdiffusion, alloy formation and oxidation at the electrode film junctions.     

Multifrequency interrogation of nanostructured gas sensor arrays: a tool for analyzing response kinetics

This paper presents a unique perspective on enhancing the physicochemical mechanisms of two distinct highly sensitive nanostructured metal oxide micro hot plate gas sensors by utilizing an innovative multifrequency interrogation method. The two types of sensors evaluated here employ an identical silicon transducer geometry but with a different morphological structure of the sensitive film. While the first sensing film consists of self-ordered tungsten oxide nanodots, limiting the response kinetics of the sensor-chemical species pair only to the reaction phenomena occurring at the sensitive film surface, the second modality is a three-dimensional array of tungsten oxide nanotubes, which in turn involves both the diffusion and adsorption of the gas during its reaction kinetics with the sensitive film itself. By utilizing the proposed multifrequency interrogation methodology, we demonstrate that the optimal temperature modulation frequencies employed for the nanotubes-based sensors to selectively detect hydrogen, carbon monoxide, ethanol, and dimethyl methyl phosphonate (DMMP) are significantly higher than those utilized for the nanodot-based sensors. This finding helps understand better the amelioration in selectivity that temperature modulation of metal oxides brings about, and, most importantly, it sets the grounds for the nanoengineering of gas-sensitive films to better exploit their practical usage.