Impedancemetric gas sensor based on Pt and WO3 co-loaded TiO2 and ZrO2 as total NOx sensing materials

Pt-loaded metal oxides [WO3/ZrO2, MOx/TiO2 (MOx = WO3, MoO3, V2O5), WO3 and TiO2] equipped with interdigital Au electrodes have been tested as a NOx (NO and NO2) gas sensor at 500 °C. The impedance value at 4 Hz was used as a sensing signal. Among the samples tested, Pt-WO3/TiO2 showed the highest sensor response magnitude to NO. The sensor was found to respond consistently and rapidly to change in concentration of NO and NO2 in the oxygen rich and moist gas mixture at 500 °C. The 90% response and 90% recovery times were as short as less than 5–10 s. The impedance at 4 Hz of the present device was found to vary almost linearly with the logarithm of NOx (NO or NO2) concentration from 10 to 570 ppm. Pt-WO3/TiO2 showed responses to NO and NO2 of the same algebraic sign and nearly the same magnitude, while Pt/WO3 and WO3/TiO2 showed higher response to NO than NO2. The impedance at 4 Hz in the presence of NO for Pt-WO3/TiO2 was almost equal at any O2 concentration examined (1–99%), while in the case of Pt/WO3 and WO3/TiO2 the impedance increased with the oxygen concentration. The features of Pt-WO3/TiO2 are favorable as a NOx sensor that can monitor and control the NOx concentration in automotive exhaust. The effect of WO3 loading of Pt-WO3/ZrO2-based sensor is studied to discuss the role of surface W-OH sites on the NOx sensing.