A Piezocatalytic Sensor for Determining Fuel Gases in Air: Principles of Operation and Performance Characteristics

摘要

A new type of sensor for determining fuel gases in air is described. The sensor consists of a differential circuit of two thermosensitive piezoelectric quartz resonators, one of which contains the thin layer of an oxidation catalyst. In the presence of a fuel gas in the flow of air, the active resonator with a catalytic layer heats up compared to the reference resonator. The difference between the oscillation frequencies of the two resonators serves as an analytical signal. The performance characteristics of resonators of different types (open and sealed) were determined, and the effect of different impurities (hydrogen, methane, and organic vapors) was studied. The detection limits for impurities estimated from the 3-σ test were found to be at a level of 10~(-2) vol%.