Tag Archives: industrial

A Robust High-Temperature Semiconducting Carbon Monoxide (CO) Sensor

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Summary:

In many combustion-related industries, monitoring CO levels is critical for estimating the efficiency of the combustion process. With the ideal balance of oxygen to fuel, pollution is also minimized. Existing gas sensors based on metal oxide materials typically operate at 200-300 degrees C. Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a CO sensor for hostile industrial environments (450-800 degrees C) that responds to CO at concentrations approaching one part per million. These sensors can be miniaturized with minimal electrical power requirements, and exhibit stable baseline resistance and good response and recovery times. To the best of our knowledge, we know of no existing solid state sensors that equal the performance of these sensors.

Potential Applications:

  • Combustion control
  • Heat treating
  • Metal processing and casting
  • Glass and ceramics manufacturing
  • Food processing
  • Power plant operations
  • Automotive applications

Advantages:

  • Responds to CO at ppm levels
  • Can be used in high-temperature, hostile environments (450-800 degrees C)
  • Minimal drift
  • Quick recovery times
  • More economical than existing high-temperature sensor technologies

Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector Operating at Room Temperature

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Summary:

Existing CO sensors are usually of either the electrochemical or optical variety. Inexpensive optical sensors, usually battery powered, are limited in their precision and lack displays to determine exact levels of CO concentration. Electrochemical devices offer higher precision and offer a display for CO concentration, but must operate at elevated temperatures and thus must be plugged in to a wall outlet. Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed an electrochemical CO sensor that operates and senses CO at room temperature, thus eliminating the need for a heating device. Therefore, energy demands are far lower when plugged in to a wall outlet, and a battery-powered electrochemical CO sensor can be achieved. This sensor can monitor CO in the ppm range and can be readily fabricated by screen printing techniques with deposition on polymer substrates. Sensors are miniaturizable.

Potential Applications:

  • Home, office, and industrial CO monitoring for occupant safety and fire detection
  • CO sensors can be incorporated into mobile devices, such as cell phones

Advantages:

  • Increased safety and sensor longevity as no heating device is needed
  • For the first time, battery-powered electrochemical CO sensors are possible
  • A portable, battery-powered CO sensor with a display becomes possible
  • Great reduction in energy consumption
  • Low-cost and easy to manufacture

Humidity-Interference Free, High-Temperature CO2 Sensor

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Summary:

Carbon dioxide sensors are becoming increasingly important in many applications including monitoring air quality, CO2 sequestration, measuring metabolic activity in animals, and controlling combustion. While commercial sensors for such applications exist, there is nothing currently on the market designed for reliability and effectiveness in high temperature and high humidity environments. Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a reliable, high-performance carbon dioxide electrochemical sensor that works across a wide range of temperatures, is insensitive to humidity, and detects CO2 across a wide range of concentrations. These sensors can be manufactured by thin and thick film processing techniques, and can therefore be miniaturized resulting in a sensor with milliwatt power requirements for operation.

Potential Applications:

  • Combustion control
  • Monitoring of metabolic activity
  • CO2 monitoring in harsh environments
  • Power plant and industrial emissions monitoring
  • Automotive and aerospace emissions monitoring
  • CO2 sequestration applications

Advantages:

  • Humidity-interference free
  • Fast response and recovery
  • Long-term sensor stability in humid conditions over a wide range of temperature
  • Solid-state device

Low Temperature Working Carbon Monoxide (CO) Sensor Based on Au/SnO2 Core-Shell Nanoparticles

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Summary:

SnO2-based CO sensors are widely used in domestic and industrial applications and belong to the class of metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) sensors. This class of sensor is easy to manufacture and miniaturize, and sensitivity and selectivity are both tunable. Also, electrochemical measurements are easily realized, require simple electronics, and integration into electronic devices is straightforward. However, since sufficient oxygen vacancies are needed for conduction, MOS sensors typically operate at elevated temperatures, which requires energy consumption and reduces sensor lifetimes. Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a MOS CO sensor based on Au/SnO2 core-shell nanoparticles that is operable in the 25 to 150 deg. C range. Sensor response is highly reproducible and recovery is fast in this temperature range, and high sensitivity was exhibited.

Potential Applications:

  • Home, office, and industrial CO monitoring for occupant and fire safety
  • Low temperature and low power requirement makes it compatible with mobile devices

Advantages:

  • A MOS electrochemical CO sensor that operates in the 25 to 150 deg. C range!
  • Increased safety and sensor longevity as no heating device is needed
  • Greatly reduced energy consumption
  • Extremely low cost and easy manufacturing
  • Simple electronics for easy device integration