Hydrocarbon and Fluorocarbon Monitoring by MIS Sensors Using an Ni Catalytic Thermodestructor

An increase in the number of gases detectable by sensors based on Pd-SiO₂-Si (MIS) and Pt-LaF₃-Si₃N₄ -SiO₂-Si (MEIS) structures was achieved by the application of an external catalyst element (CE). It was shown that as a result of the decomposition of hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon molecules on a Ni coil (CE), the products detectable by metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) and metal-electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (MEIS) sensors are formed. The simultaneous catalytic oxidation of hydrocarbons and their thermal decomposition result in an optimum CE temperature of about 1050 K for propane. The kinetics of the thermal decomposition of gases on Ni were investigated. The activation energy of the reaction for C₃ H₈ and the enthalpy in the case of CF₃-CCl were estimated