Ultrathin Gas Permeable Oxide Membranes for Chemical Sensing: Nanoporous Ta2O5 Test Study

Conductometric gas sensors made of gas permeable metal oxide ultrathin membranes can combine the functions of a selective filter, preconcentrator, and sensing element and thus can be particularly promising for the active sampling of diluted analytes. Here we report a case study of the electron trans...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alexander Imbault, Yue Wang, Peter Kruse, Evgheni Strelcov, Elisabetta Comini, Giorgio Sberveglieri, Andrei Kolmakov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2015-09-01
Series:Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/8/10/5333
Description
Summary:Conductometric gas sensors made of gas permeable metal oxide ultrathin membranes can combine the functions of a selective filter, preconcentrator, and sensing element and thus can be particularly promising for the active sampling of diluted analytes. Here we report a case study of the electron transport and gas sensing properties of such a membrane made of nanoporous Ta2O5. These membranes demonstrated a noticeable chemical sensitivity toward ammonia, ethanol, and acetone at high temperatures above 400 °C. Different from traditional thin films, such gas permeable, ultrathin gas sensing elements can be made suspended enabling advanced architectures of ultrasensitive analytical systems operating at high temperatures and in harsh environments.
ISSN:1996-1944