Process Control and Instrumentation

MQ2 Gas sensor

3rd Stage
Petrochemical Engineering
Duhok Polytechnic University
1. Introduction
In this example, you will design a smoke alarm system using smoke sensor.
This sensor produce analog output voltage and when the smoke reaches a
certain level, a red LED will turn on.
The MQ-2 smoke sensor is sensitive to smoke and to the following
flammable gases:
• LPG
• Butane
• Propane
• Methane
• Alcohol
• Hydrogen
The resistance of the sensor is different depending on the type of the gas.
The smoke sensor has a built-in potentiometer that allows you to adjust the
sensor sensitivity according to how accurate you want to detect gas.

MQ-2 sensor
2. Pin diagram

Sensor Pin-out details

3. How this sensor work?

The voltage that the sensor outputs changes accordingly to the smoke/gas
level that exists in the atmosphere. The sensor changes its resistance
according to the concentration of smoke/gas.
In other words, the relationship between voltage and gas concentration is
the following:
• The greater the gas concentration, the greater the output voltage
• The lower the gas concentration, the lower the output voltage
MQ2 is one of the commonly used gas sensors in MQ sensor series. It is a
Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) type Gas Sensor also known
as Chemiresistors as the detection is based upon change of resistance of the
sensing material when the Gas comes in contact with the material. Using a
simple voltage divider network, concentrations of gas can be detected.

Sensing element inside the gas sensor

When tin dioxide (semiconductor particles) is heated in air at high temperature,

oxygen is adsorbed on the surface. In clean air, donor electrons in tin dioxide
are attracted toward oxygen which is adsorbed on the surface of the sensing
material. This prevents electric current flow.

In the presence of gases, the surface density of adsorbed oxygen decreases as

it reacts with the reducing gases. Electrons are then released into the tin
dioxide, allowing current to flow freely through the sensor.
4. Procedure

1. Connect the MQ2 sensor as shown below to the analog pins of

the Arduino.
2. Monitor the output of the sensor using the serial monitor
3. Connect a led to the Arduino
4. Turn the led on when there is gas/ smoke (you can use a
lighter to produce somke