CuO catalytic membrane as selectivity trimmer for metal oxide gas sensors

Gas sensors based on semiconducting metal oxides were coated with catalytic membranes to improve the selectivity of gas detection. CuO was used to establish a catalytic membrane to develop an active gas filter. The coated gas sensors were tested for their gas-detecting properties by exposure to model gas atmospheres. The catalytic effect of the membranes was examined by analyzing the composition of the gas atmosphere with an FT-IR spectrometer during exposure. To test the discrimination power, eight sensors with and without coating were combined in an array which was exposed to a mixture of two gases. A good selectivity was demonstrated using principal component analysis (PCA).