Nernst zirconia oxygen sensor

Oxide ion conductors have been extensively investigated for their applications in fuel cells, oxygen sensors, oxygen pumps, and oxygen permeable membranes [81-108], The ion conduction effect was discovered more than a century ago by Nernst in zirconia products [83,84], To use zirconia, it... 

The conventional oxygen sensor, shown Figure 1 a, is based on a closed yttria-stabilized zirconia tube [Kleitz et al., 1992]. The electrodes are made of platinum paste. The outer electrode, in contact with air, forms the reference electrode. The cell emf obeys the Nernst law ... 

If two such electrodes are separated by a thin layer of only zirconia, the application of a potential will lead to the pumping of oxygen from the cathode to the anode. This device can be used as an amperometric sensor for oxygen if a diffusion barrier restricts the flux of oxygen to the cathode. Note that similar devices are also often used as potentiometric sensors according to the Nernst equation (i.e., the lambda-probe in cars with catalytic converters). In this case one side of the cell has to act as a reference, e.g., by using ambient air. 

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