Chemosensitive properties of electrically conductive Cu(I) compounds at room temperature

Changes of the electrical conductance of a number of inorganic copper(I) conductive compounds including Cu12Sb4S13, Cu2O, CuI, CuBr and CuCl were tested on exposure to different gases and vapors, including ammonia, nitrogen monoxide, octanethiol, hydrogen chloride, acetic acid, formic acid, ethanol, humidity and piperidine. The sensitivity of the resistivity to ammonia was estimated as 2.7%/ppm for CuBr, 1.4%/ppm for Cu2O, 1.2%/ppm for CuCl, 0.013%/ppm for CuI, but only 0.0028%/ppm for Cu12Sb4S13. The highest selectivity for ammonia was observed for Cu12Sb4S13. The sensitivity patterns of these materials to the tested gases and vapors are very different which makes them applicable for sensor arrays for identification and quantification of these species.