Sensors and Actuators B 146 (2010) 46–52

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Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical

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Potentiometric VOC detection at sub-ppm levels based on YSZ electrolyte and

platinum electrode covered with gold
Masami Mori, Yoshihiko Sadaoka ∗
Department of Materials Science and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University, 3 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577, Japan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A potentiometric oxygen sensor was fabricated and applied to detect several volatile organic compounds
Received 29 July 2009 (VOCs; acetic acid, methylethylketone, ethanol, benzene, toluene, o- and p-xylene) at sub-ppm levels
Received in revised form 26 January 2010 in the temperature range of 400–500 ◦ C. The half-cell potential of the Pt electrode responded to the
Accepted 1 February 2010
sub-ppm levels of VOCs in air. The use of a Pt electrode coated with Au was effective in enhancing the
Available online 6 February 2010
sensitivity. The absolute value of the EMF of the separate-type sensors linearly increased with an increase
in the logarithm of VOC concentrations. Both sensing characteristics, a and b, in EMF = a + b log[C] were
Keywords:
improved by the modification of the Pt working electrode with Au. For the planar-type sensor with Pt
YSZ
VOC sensor
and Au-coated Pt electrodes, the EMF responses in some tenth mV were observed for the examined VOCs
Oxygen sensor at 500 ◦ C.
EMF © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction potentials have been reported to occur in various electrode sys-

Because air quality contamination by volatile organic com-
pounds (VOCs) especially indoor has become a serious problem for
health in several scenes of human life, their concentration in air
needs to be strictly regulated to an extremely low level [1]. There-
fore, continuous monitoring of VOCs is now strongly demanded,
especially in urban spaces. Among the various sensing techniques
used to detect such harmful gases, solid-state sensors are of prac-
tical interest due to their small size and ease of use. Zirconia-based
electrochemical sensors tailored for NOx , CO and hydrocarbon
detection have been widely investigated [2–23]. In a potentiomet-
ric method, the output voltage can be evaluated from the Nernst
equation assuming a reversible transfer of oxygen from cathode
to anode. For a sensor having a simple Pa (O2 ), Pt/YSZ/Pt, Pc (O2 )
structure, where Pa (O2 ) and Pc (O2 ) are the different oxygen partial
pressures at the anode and cathode electrodes, respectively, the
Nernst equation can be written as follows:
EMF = (RT/4F)ln[Pc (O2 )/Pa (O2 )]
where R is the gas constant, T is the absolute temperature and F is
the Faraday’s constant. It has been known that the EMF of such cells
can exhibit strong deviation from the equilibrium values given by
the Nernst equation, if oxygen together with oxidizable gases are
present and the catalytic properties of the working electrode are
appropriately changed. These so-called non-Nernstian electrode
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: sadaoka@eng.ehime-u.ac.jp (Y. Sadaoka).
tems. In 1977, Fleming first interpreted this deviation from the
viewpoint of non-Nernstian behavior, resulting from the simulta-
neous occurrence of two electrochemical reactions at the working
electrode [2]. Since then, many research groups have exploited
the non-Nernstian behavior to develop several electrochemical
sensors. For non-Nernstian behavior, two mechanisms are being
considered. The first assumption is a mixed potential by electro-
chemical reduction of oxygen and electrochemical oxidation of
oxidizable species. The mixed potential is directly related to the
oxygen activity at the three-phase-boundary (TPB) composed with
oxygen/Pt/YSZ [2,4,22]. The following reactions influence the elec-
trode potential at the TPB:
O2 + 4e− ⇔ 2O2− (2)
VOC + xO2− ⇒ products + 2xe− (3)
The mixed potential of the half-cell is established only when
the electron transfer rates of the oxygen reduction reaction (2) and
(1)
the oxidation of VOC reaction (3) are equal. According to the second
model, the adsorption of oxidizable species at the electrode reduces
the number of oxygen adsorption sites, and thus the oxygen activ-
ity at electrodes should be decreased. The non-Nernstian electrode
potential depends on the physicochemical properties of the surface
such as the number of adsorption sites, the catalytic activity, reac-
tion kinetics at the electrode surface, oxidizable species and the
temperature [2,3,24].
An interesting approach to electrochemically detect VOC gases
is the exploitation of zirconia-based oxygen sensors due to their
wide applications in practical use. In this study, a potentiomet-

0925-4005/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.snb.2010.02.001
 M. Mori, Y. Sadaoka / Sensors and Actuators B 146 (2010) 46–52
Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of sensor structures.
ric oxygen sensor with an Au-coated Pt electrode was fabricated
and used to determine the feasibility of detecting sub-ppm lev-
els of contaminating VOCs in air in an intermediate temperature
region of 400–500 ◦ C. Au coating effects on the sensing behavior
were examined.
2. Experimental
An 8YSZ sheet (8 mol% Y2 O3 /ZrO2 , Tosoh Co.) of 200 ␮m in
thickness was used as the electrolyte. Platinum electrodes were
deposited on the surfaces of the 8YSZ sheet by magnetron sput-
tering. The thickness of the Pt electrode was about 15 nm. Gold
wires were attached onto the corners of the Pt sputtered electrodes
(1 × 3 mm2 ) using Pt paste (Tanaka-Matthey Co., TR-7907). The sen-
sor with the Pt electrode coated with Au was prepared by a coating
of Au paste (Tanaka-Matthey Co., TR-1530). The fabricated sensors
are illustrated in Fig. 1. The whole sensing elements were then heat-
treated at 550 ◦ C in air before the measurements. In relating to the
layer structure of the Au–Pt electrode, the Pt layer formed on the
8YSZ was over-coated with Au by magnetron sputtering and then
heat-treated at several temperatures in air. The treated electrode
was analyzed with XPS in a high vacuum. The observed depth pro-
files of Au and Pt of the electrode layer suggested that each element,
Au and Pt, diffused to each layer by the heat-treatments. Both Au-
rich and Pt-rich layers were clearly detected and the content of Au in
the Pt layer decreased monotonically from the interlayer of Au and
Pt to the surface of the 8YSZ. More detailed results will be appeared
in elsewhere. SEM photographs of the surface of electrodes are
Fig. 2. SEM photographs of electrodes.
47
shown in Fig. 2. The surface morphology of the YSZ sheet is reflected
in the SEM image of the Pt electrode. For measurements with the
separate-type sensors, the element was fixed on the top of an insu-
lating ceramic tube with an inorganic adhesive to separate the
atmospheres surrounding the two Pt electrodes. One electrode side
was exposed to synthetic air (21% oxygen diluted with nitrogen)
from a gas cylinder, and the other side was exposed to synthetic
air contaminated with different VOC gases, i.e., methylethylketone
(MEK), acetic acid, ethanol, benzene, toluene, o- and p-xylene, at
concentrations lower than 10 ppm. Air-balanced VOC gases were
prepared by mixing of VOC vapor through diffusion tubes at a reg-
ulated temperature with cylinder air at prescribed flow rate ratios
(Gastech, G1). The flow rate of the test gas introduced into the mea-
suring chamber of quartz glass was 200 ml/min. The sensor element
was placed in the chamber and located in a temperature-controlled
tubular furnace. The EMF responses of the sensor were measured
using a digital electrometer (Advantest, TR8652).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. VOC sensing response
For a potentiometric zirconia-based oxygen sensor, the output
voltage is interpretable with the thermodynamic relationship for
the reversible transfer of oxygen from cathode to anode for the
Pa (O2 ), Pt/YSZ/Pt, Pc (O2 ) geometry according to the Nernstian-type
equation. For Sensor-I, the observed EMF responses to the oxygen
concentrations were well fitted to the Nernstian-type equation, and
the electron number for the oxygen sensing reaction evaluated at
400 ◦ C in the 0.1–100% oxygen concentration range was 4 ± 0.2,
close to the theoretical value [23]. The EMF remained constant dur-
ing the changes in oxygen concentrations for Sensor-II. Fig. 3 shows
the EMF responses of Sensor-IV to the oxygen concentrations. For
Sensor-IV with Pt and Au-coated Pt electrodes, the EMF values in air
(21% O2 ) were very low negative values and approached zero with
an increase in the operating temperature from 400 to 550 ◦ C. In this
case, the Pt electrode was connected to the negative terminal and
the Au-coated Pt electrode was connected to the positive terminal
of the electrometer. When the oxygen concentration decreased in
steps, the EMF responded negatively. The EMF responses increased
with a decrease in oxygen concentrations and also decreased with
an increase in the temperature. These observed EMF responses to
the oxygen concentrations suggested that the EMF is indirectly
related to the oxygen concentration of test gas and that the Nernst
equation in Eq. (1) can be rewritten as the following:
EMF = (RT/4F)ln{[O2c (ad)]/[O2a (ad)]} (4)
or
EMF = (RT/2F)ln{[Oc 2− ]/[Oa 2− ]} (5)
48 M. Mori, Y. Sadaoka / Sensors and Actuators B 146 (2010) 46–52
Fig. 3. EMF responses to oxygen concentrations of a planar-type sensor with Pt and
Au-coated Pt electrodes. Test gas was changed from 21% oxygen to nitrogen in steps
and returned also in steps. The concentration of oxygen in % is denoted in the figure.
where [O2c (ad)] and [O2a (ad)] are the adsorbed oxygen concen-
tration at the anode and cathode, respectively, and [O2− ] is the
oxygen ion concentration at the TPB. EMF responses are related
to the change in the oxygen ion activity at the TPB of each elec-
trode. The observed EMF value suggested that the concentration of
[O2 (ad)] and/or [O2− ] on the Pt electrode covered with Au is lower
than that of the sole Pt electrode. At a high concentration of oxy-
gen, for example, at 21% oxygen, the observed EMF was very low
suggesting that the potential of the half-cell was hardly influenced
by the modification of the Pt electrode with Au. When the oxy-
gen concentrations decreased, the EMF was shifted to the negative
region and then slightly returned as shown in Fig. 3. Reverse ten-
dencies were observed when the oxygen concentration increased
from nitrogen to air in steps. This response behavior may be due
to the difference between the EMF responses to the concentration
at each electrode. These traces suggested that the half-cell poten-
tial of the Au-coated electrode side decreased in faster than that of
the Pt electrode side when the oxygen concentration decreased. In
relation to the effect of Au coating on the sensing characteristics, a
planar-type sensor with Au and Pt electrodes, Pt/YSZ/Au, formed on
the same surface of YSZ sheet was fabricated. The EMF value of the
planar-type sensor in 21% oxygen at 400 ◦ C was more minus com-
pared with that of Sensor-IV and a larger EMF response to minus
was also observed in lower oxygen concentrations. It should be
noticed that the use of the Pt electrode coated with Au is effective
to lower the level of the EMF signal especially in air (21%O2 ). A more
detailed result and discussion may be appeared in elsewhere.
Fig. 4. EMF responses to 0.5 ppm VOCs of Sensor-IV at 500 ◦ C. Test gas was changed
from air to 0.5 ppm VOCs and then returned.
Fig. 5. EMF responses to the toluene concentration of Sensor-I with at 500 ◦ C. Test
gas was changed from air to toluene-containing air and then returned. Concentration
of toluene is denoted in the figure.
Fig. 4 shows the EMF response for 0.5 ppm VOCs of Sensor-IV
at 500 ◦ C. The contamination of 0.5 ppm VOCs induced the EMF
response of Sensor-IV. The EMF responded negatively to the VOCs
and its magnitude depended on the VOC species. It should be noted
that the contamination level was in ppm and the concentration
of oxygen was 21%. By comparison of the results appearing in
Figs. 3 and 4, it was confirmed that the observed EMF response
to 0.5 ppm VOCs was larger than that in 21% oxygen without VOCs.
In this case, the half-cell potentials of both the Pt and Au-coated Pt
electrodes responded to the contamination.
To examine half-cell potential changes with contamination,
individually, separate-type sensors, Sensor-I and Sensor-III, were
fabricated, and one side of the Pt electrode acting as a reference
was exposed to uncontaminated air to fix the half-cell potential.
Fig. 5 shows the EMF response of Sensor-I to toluene at 500 ◦ C. When
both electrodes were exposed to uncontaminated air, a negative
EMF value of around −0.005 V was detected. For the separate-type
sensor, the electrodes were fitted on different surfaces of the YSZ
sheet and the morphology of the YSZ surface was different in case
[24]. For Sensor-I, when the electrodes were reversed, the negative
EMF was changed to positive. The confirmed result suggested that
the appearance of the negative EMF in air does not originate from
the difference in the temperature of each electrode side. The EMF
value in air approached zero from the negative when the operat-
ing temperature was raised. This is explained by the fact that the
kinetic difference, due to the difference in surface morphologies
of the two sides, might diminish with an increase in the tempera-
ture [23,24]. Fig. 6 shows the EMF responses of Sensor-III to toluene
at 500 ◦ C. The over-coating of Au onto the Pt electrode induced a
larger response. The concentration dependence of EMF responses
was also confirmed, and longer response and recovery times were
observed. EMF responses to several VOCs were also examined at
400, 450 and 500 ◦ C. The sensitivity of the device was defined as
the change in EMF (Eq. (6)).
EMF = EMFVOC − EMFair (6)
Figs. 7 and 8 show the concentration dependence of the EMF
of Sensor-I and Sensor-III to several VOCs at 400 ◦ C. The EMF
changed linearly with the logarithm of the VOC concentrations
(CVOC ).
EMF = a + b log[CVOC ] (7)
where a is the EMF at 1 ppm VOC and b is the sensitivity, defined
as the slope (V/decade) of the semi-logarithm fit of EMF data.
For Sensor-I and Sensor-III, the sensing characteristics (a and b)
defined in Eq. (7) are summarized in Tables 1a and 1b. The sensi-
tivity to the VOCs decreased with an increase in the temperature
 M. Mori, Y. Sadaoka / Sensors and Actuators B 146 (2010) 46–52 49

Fig. 6. EMF responses to the toluene concentration of Sensor-III at 500 ◦ C. Test gas
was changed from air to toluene-containing air and then returned. Concentration of Fig. 8. Concentration dependences of the EMF of Sensor-III on VOCs at 400 ◦ C.
toluene is denoted in the figure.

3.2. Sensing mechanisms

Fundamentally, the electrode potential is directly related to

Fig. 7. Concentration dependences of the EMF of Sensor-I on VOCs at 400 ◦ C.
and the EMF at 1 ppm VOCs also decreased. It is confirmed that
the sensitivity and the EMF at 1 ppm VOCs increased due to the
coating of Au onto the Pt sensing electrode. Greater enhancement
of the sensing characteristics by the coating of Au onto the Pt elec-
trode was confirmed for aromatics rather than that for oxygenated
compounds.
the oxygen activity at the TPB [25]. It seems that the reactions of
Eqs. (2) and (3) influence the electrode potential at the TPB. The
detailed reaction kinetics of Eq. (2) may involve more than one
step; that is O2 ⇔ O2 (ad), O2 (ad) ⇔ 2O(ad), O(ad) + e− ⇔ O− (ad),
O− (ad) + e− ⇔ O2− (ad). To discuss VOC sensing characteristics, the
following reactions on the Pt electrode formed on the YSZ surface
should be additionally considered. If a reaction of VOC with oxy-
gen molecules adsorbed on the Pt electrode surface progresses, two
reaction routes, the Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) mechanism and
the Eley–Ridel (E–R) mechanism, are considered [26]. The former
proceeds by a two-molecular reaction between the adsorbed VOCs
and oxygen molecules, whereas the latter proceeds by VOCs in the
gaseous phase attaching to primarily adsorbed oxygen molecules
(or vice versa). In both cases, the contamination with VOC induced
a decrease in the concentration of adsorbed oxygen molecules on
the Pt electrode surface, simultaneously resulting in a given EMF
change. Furthermore, the contribution of lattice oxygen in the YSZ
should also be considered. Consequently, the following processes
are also expected to occur.
O2 (g) ⇔ O2 (ad) (adsorption of oxygen) (8)
O2 (g) + VOC(g) ⇒ oxidized products

Table 1a
EMF/V at 1 ppm of VOC.

Temperature/◦ C Methyethylketone Ethanol Acetic acid Benzene Toluene p-Xylene o-Xylene

Sensor-I 400 0.022 0.039 0.019 0.016 0.022 0.025 0.028

450 0.006 0.015 0.023 0.005 0.008 0.023 0.009
500 0.001 0.005 0.004 0.003 0.007 0.008 0.009

Sensor-III 400 0.039 0.064 0.051 0.069 0.101 0.084 0.106

450 0.018 0.023 0.046 0.036 0.058 0.059 0.056
500 0.004 0.011 0.017 0.014 0.024 0.038 0.027

Table 1b
Sensitivity/V decade−1 .

Temperature/◦ C Methyethylketone Ethanol Acetic acid Benzene Toluene p-Xylene o-Xylene

Sensor-I 400 0.039 0.054 0.038 0.031 0.039 0.037 0.041

450 0.019 0.037 0.036 0.028 0.034 0.037 0.037
500 0.003 0.011 0.022 0.014 0.038 0.036 0.029

Sensor-III 400 0.025 0.043 0.063 0.049 0.087 0.096 0.076

450 0.027 0.051 0.049 0.045 0.069 0.069 0.087
500 0.006 0.011 0.042 0.011 0.04 0.051 0.056
50 M. Mori, Y. Sadaoka / Sensors and Actuators B 146 (2010) 46–52
(combustion in gas phase)
O2 (ad) + 4e− ⇔ 2O2− (lattice) (electrochemical reaction)
O2 (ad) + VOC(g) ⇔ O2 (g) + VOC(ad) (oxygen replacement)
VOC(ad) + O2 (ad) ⇒ oxidized products (L–H mechanism)
VOC(g) + O2 (ad) ⇒ oxidized products (E–R mechanism)
VOC(ad, g) + nO2− (lattice) ⇒ oxidized products + 2ne−
(electrochemical oxidation)
Three types of oxygen species, i.e., O2 (g) in gas, adsorbed oxy-
gen, O2 (ad), and dissociated oxygen, O2− , present in the interlayer
between the Pt electrode and 8YSZ are taken into account. Disso-
ciated oxygen directly contributes to the activity of oxygen ions
at the TPB. The activity of the oxygen ion is decreased by the VOC
reaction with oxygen. Therefore, an EMF response upon exposure
to VOCs can be generated. Two possible processes are considered.
(1) The reduction of the adsorbed oxygen density results in a
decrease of the activity of oxygen ions at the electrode, due
to the adsorption of VOCs.
(2) A mixed potential at the TPB generated by the coexistence of
electrochemical reduction of oxygen and electrochemical oxi-
dation of VOCs.
As a consequence of both processes, the activity of oxygen ions
at the TPB strongly depends on the physicochemical properties of
the electrode surface such as the number of adsorption sites or the
catalytic activity and reaction kinetics at the electrode surface.
A direct oxidation (combustion) of VOCs taking place outside
the TPB, i.e., in the gas phase, is also possible. However, this is not
likely to be the main process for EMF responses, because the VOCs
concentration is only at ppm levels and is vanishingly smaller than
the oxygen concentration of 21%. Nonetheless, a significant EMF
value of several tenths of mV was observed at 400 ◦ C for the air
contaminated with the 0.5 ppm level of VOCs as shown in Fig. 4.
This suggests that the EMF response is originated from at least the
following steps:
(i) Replacement of adsorbed oxygen on the electrode with VOC
molecules,
(ii) Reaction of VOC(ad) with O2 (ad) on the electrode (L–H mech-
anism),
(iii) Reaction of VOC(ad) with O2− (lattice).
As shown in Tables 1a and 1b, the absolute value of the EMF
decreased with an increase in the temperature. At a higher tem-
perature, the adsorption/desorption equilibrium of the VOCs shifts
towards desorption, resulting in a reduced contribution of VOCs to
EMF responses. In this case, a large reduction of the |EMF| is also
due to O2 (ad) desorption. On the other hand, the electrochemical
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
Fig. 9. Correlation between the EMF of Sensor-I and Sensor-III at 450 ◦ C.
oxygen reduction will be promoted with increasing temperature
(13) due to the fact that the O2− (lattice) species are thermally activated
and become more reactive with VOCs. Therefore, the reaction (iii)
results in an increase in the |EMF| with the temperature. Thus,
the direct reaction between VOC and O2− (lattice) may be a minor
(14) process in the temperature range of 400–500 ◦ C.
Fig. 9 shows the correlation between the EMF for VOCs of two
types of sensors at 450 ◦ C. At a constant concentration of the VOCs,
a larger EMF was observed for the sensor with the Au-coated Pt
electrode. The direction and level of the EMF response for VOCs
suggested that the oxygen ion activity of the sensing electrode
modified with Au was lower than that of the Pt electrode. The
adsorbed VOCs on the Au surface diffused to the inner layer and
reacted with adsorbed oxygen on the TPB sites. Also VOCs diffused
to the TPB sites react directly with dissociated oxygen resulting in
electrochemical oxidation. It seems that the modification of the
Pt electrode with Au induced the decrease in the concentration
of the adsorption sites on the Pt surface. The expected phenom-
ena of the electrodes are illustrated in Fig. 10. Roughly speaking,
the over-coating of the Pt sensing electrode with Au resulted in
enhancement of the EMF response to VOCs. Higher enhancements
were observed for aromatics as shown in Fig. 9. If these charac-
teristics are due to the decrease in the oxygen concentration on
the TPB sites and VOCs are completely oxidized to CO2 and H2 O
at the TPB sites, it is expected that the EMF especially for aro-
matic compounds is related to the carbon number of the aromatic.
In appearance, the EMF for an aromatic is correlated with the
carbon atoms in the aromatic, but it should be noted again that the
contamination level of the VOCs was in ppm and the concentration
of oxygen was 21%. It seems that the EMF response to aromatics is
not related to the number of carbon atoms. To discuss the difference
in sensing characteristics for each VOC and the kinetics, catalytic
reactions on the electrode top surface, the adsorption/desorption
kinetics and also the diffusion behavior of VOCs on the electrode
layer should be examined separately from the electrochemical
reaction at the TPB sites. At this stage, it was very difficult to deter-
mine the surface coverage of VOCs on the electrode. In relation to
the adsorption/desorption behavior, physicochemical characteris-
tics such as the boiling point and the heat of vaporization at the
boiling point of the VOCs may be useful to interpret at least qual-
itatively, the difference in sensing characteristics between VOCs.
These characteristics are a measure of the intermolecular inter-
actions of VOCs in the liquid state. If any peculiar interactions
between the electrode surface and VOCs do not occur, it seems that
the interaction between the VOC molecules and the electrode sur-
face is correlated with such characteristic factors, and the surface
coverage of VOC molecules on the electrode surface is also cor-
related. The published data for the boiling point and the heat of
 M. Mori, Y. Sadaoka / Sensors and Actuators B 146 (2010) 46–52
Fig. 10. Schematic illustration of the interpreted phenomena at the electrodes.
Fig. 11. The boiling point and the heat of vaporization at the b.p. of VOCs in liquid
phase of VOCs.
vaporization of the examined VOCs are shown in Fig. 11 [27]. Both
the boiling point and the heat of vaporization of aromatic com-
pounds are in the order of benzene < toluene < p-xylene < o-xylene.
For oxygenated compounds, the boiling point is in the order of
ethanol ∼ MEK < acetic acid and the heat of vaporization is in the
Fig. 12. Correlation between sensing characteristics of Sensor-I at 400 ◦ C and the
boiling point of VOCs.
51
Fig. 13. Correlation between sensing characteristics of Sensor-III at 400 ◦ C and the
boiling point of VOCs.
order of ethanol > MEK > acetic acid. The correlation between EMF
responses at 400 ◦ C of Sensor-I and Sensor-III and the boiling point
in ◦ C are shown in Figs. 12 and 13, respectively. For the aromat-
ics, these characteristics seem to be related to the boiling point of
the VOCs. More distinct dependencies of the characteristics were
confirmed for Sensor-III than for Sensor-I. Similar tendencies in cor-
relation were also confirmed at 450 and 500 ◦ C. It was noted that
more distinct dependencies of the characteristics was confirmed
for the sensor with the Au-coated Pt electrode than for the sen-
sor with Pt electrode, even the catalytic activity of Au is much
lower than that of Pt. Larger EMF value was observed especially
for ethanol, while the boiling point of ethanol (78 ◦ C) is compa-
rable with that of MEK (80 ◦ C). The heat of vaporization at the
boiling point is 9.3 and 7.5 cal/mol for ethanol and MEK, respec-
tively. A higher surface coverage of VOCs on the electrode surface
may result from a higher boiling point and heat of vaporization.
Anyway, more detailed experiments are needed to discuss about
the selective detection of VOCs.
4. Conclusions
The effect of the contamination of several VOCs at sub-ppm
levels on the EMF response of potentiometric oxygen sensors
with some different structures was investigated in the tem-
52 M. Mori, Y. Sadaoka / Sensors and Actuators B 146 (2010) 46–52
perature region of 400–500 ◦ C. The half-cell potential of the Pt
electrode responded to sub-ppm levels of VOCs in air. The use
of the Pt electrode coated with Au was effective for enhancing
the EMF responses. The response and recovery times increased
with increasing temperature, whereas the EMF response decreased.
The absolute EMF value of the separate-type sensors linearly
increased with an increase in the logarithm of the VOC concen-
tration. Both sensing characteristics, a and b, in EMF = a + b log[C]
for the sensor with the sensing Pt electrode were improved by
the modification of the Pt electrode with Au. For planar-type sen-
sors with the Pt electrode and the Au-coated Pt electrode, the EMF
responded to the oxygen concentrations, and its level increased
with a decrease in the oxygen concentrations. Especially for a
series of aromatics, the positive correlations between the sens-
ing characteristics and the boiling point of the aromatics were
observed.
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Biographies
Masami Mori received her B. Sci. degree in analytical chemistry from Ehime Uni-
versity in 2003. She obtained Dr. Eng. degree from Ehime University in 2008.
She is a research associate at Department of Materials Science and Engineering
since 2003. Her main interest is nano-particle applications for chemical sensor and
catalyst.
Yoshihiko Sadaoka received his M. Eng. degree in industrial chemistry from Ehime
University in 1971. He has been on the faculty of engineering at Ehime University
since 1971. He obtained Dr. Eng. degree from Kyushu University in 1979. He is a
professor at Department of Materials Science and Engineering since 1996. His main
interests are inorganic and organic functional materials for chemical sensor and
green materials.