Impedancemetric zirconia-based sensor for detection of propene at high temperature

We report here that impedancemetric sensor based on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) can detect propene (C/sub 3/H/sub 6/) sensitively and selectively under wet condition, if the selection of sensing-electrode (SE) material and operating condition is made properly. Among the various single-oxide SEs examined, ZnO was found to give rather high sensitivity to C/sub 3/H/sub 6/ at 600/spl deg/C in the presence of 1 vol.% H/sub 2/O as well as negligible sensitivity to CH4 which is not regulated as an air pollutant. In addition, when 1.5 wt.% Pt was loaded on ZnO-SE and the potential of +50 mV vs. Pt counter-electrode (CE) was applied to this SE, the present sensor was found to detect C/sub 3/H/sub 6/ rather sensitively with little interference of other gases, such as CO, NO, NO/sub 2/, H/sub 2/, CH/sub 4/, CO/sub 2/, H/sub 2/O and O/sub 2/, at 600/spl deg/C.