Catalytic conductance sensors

Shoemaker EL, Vogt MC, Dudek FJ (1996) Cyclic voltammetry applied to an oxygen-ion-conducting solid electrolyte as an active electro-catalytic gas sensor. Solid State Ion 92 285-292... 

Particularly attractive for numerous bioanalytical applications are colloidal metal (e.g., gold) and semiconductor quantum dot nanoparticles. The conductivity and catalytic properties of such systems have been employed for developing electrochemical gas sensors, electrochemical sensors based on molecular- or polymer-functionalized nanoparticle sensing interfaces, and for the construction of different biosensors including enzyme-based electrodes, immunosensors, and DNA sensors. Advances in the application of molecular and biomolecular functionalized metal, semiconductor, and magnetic particles for electroanalytical and bio-electroanalytical applications have been reviewed by Katz et al. [142]. 

Figure 4.8. displays oscillograms of evolution of the electric conductivity of the ZnO film in the process of catalytic dehydration of isopropyl alcohol at various temperatures of the catalyzer and equal portions of alcohol (5-10-2 Torr) admitted into the reaction cell. Experimental curves 1-4 are bell-shaped. We suppose that this fact is associated with two circumstances. On one hand, alcohol vapors dissociate on the oxide film producing hydrogen atoms. The jump in electric conductivity is caused by chemisorption of these hydrogen atoms on the film which plays a part of the sensor in this case. Chi the other hand, the drop in electric conductivity is caused by complete dissociation of the admitted portion of alcohol ( depletion of the source of hydrogen atoms) and by... 

Attaching the catalyst molecules to the electrode surface presents an obvious advantage for synthetic and sensor applications. Catalysis can then be viewed as a supported molecular catalysis. It is the object of the next section. A distinction is made between monolayer and multilayer coatings. In the former, only chemical catalysis may take place, whereas both types of catalysis are possible with multilayer coatings, thanks to their three-dimensional structure. Besides substrate transport in the bathing solution, the catalytic responses are then under the control of three main phenomena electron hopping conduction, substrate diffusion, and catalytic reaction. While several systems have been described in which electron transport and catalysis are carried out by the same redox centers, particularly interesting systems are those in which these two functions are completed by two different molecular systems. 

A surface sensor works even differently. Here the electrical conductivity of the sensor material is affected by catalytic reactions between the sensor and the atmosphere. This book deals with ceramics and the l-probe contains an 02-surface sensor which in its turn contains ceramics. This sensor is used to measure the oxygen content of exhaust fumes. Nowadays many cars are equipped with so-called 3-way converters... 

The most likely effect of PdAu deposited on the PdAu/SnOx sensor surface is the promotion of the dissociative adsorption of C2H 0H (Step 2) due to the strong catalytic strength of Pd on hydrocarbon adsorbates. Hence, more active hydrogen species (H ) are created by Pd, and more localized electrons [0-2 (ads)] are released and injected back to the SnOx conduction band (12,13). 

Chapter 10 deals with composite films synthesized by the physical vapor deposition method. These films consist of dielectric matrix containing metal or semiconductor (M/SC) nanoparticles. The film structure is considered and discussed in relation to the mechanism of their formation. Some models of nucleation and growth of M/SC nanoparticles in dielectric matrix are presented. The properties of films including dark and photo-induced conductivity, conductometric sensor properties, dielectric characteristics, and catalytic activity as well as their dependence on film structure are discussed. There is special focus on the physical and chemical effects caused by the interaction of M/SC nanoparticles with the environment and charge transfer between nanoparticles in the matrix. 

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