Oxygen sensors based on a new design concept for amperometric solid state devices

Abstract

A new design for all-solid amperometric detectors was tested as an oxygen sensor in the 1%–25% v/v concentration range. The design consisted of both the working (WEs) and counter electrodes (CEs) being vacuum-deposited as non-porous Au layers on the same face of a Nafion® membrane and in contact with the gas sample. Both a three-electrode device (the reference electrode being a strip of Ag/AgCl inserted between the two Au layers) and a two-electrode one were tested. In the former case, the sensor exhibited good linearity with oxygen concentration, response times comparable to a commercial sensor but a strong dependence on humidity. The origin of the latter is not due to ohmic losses but rather to the loss of catalytic activity with decreasing water contact in the polymer. The two-electrode device exhibits signal saturation at high oxygen concentrations, which is interpreted by limitations imposed by the CE reactivity. In both cases, oxygen reduction led to an exponential current rise over a wide potential range indicating very high mass transport rates and implying that the electroactive gas reacts at the line formed by the gas/solid electrolyte/metal layer interface.