Max-planck-gesellschaft Zur F&#xf6;rderung Der Wissenschaften E. V.

Jun Liu

Werner Weppner

The invention concerns as amperometric gas sensor for the selective deteration with high accuracy of a gas partial pressures. Such a gas sensor includes a solid electrolyte and inert electrodes. The solid electrolyte, contained in the sensor, is selected in such a way that when an electrical current or voltage is applied, ions contained in the electrolyte form a reaction product with the gas to be determined in a secondary equilibrium reaction and with generation of an electrically measurable signal. Preferred solid electrolytes are Na.sup.+ -.beta.' aluminum oxide, NASICON, cubic stabilized zirconium oxide and polycrystals of tetragonal zirconium oxide. A method for the selective determination of gases using such electrodes also is described. Preferably an electrical current or voltage source shall be used which feeds a periodic, especially a sawtooth or sinusoidal signal, to the solid electrolyte, as a result of which the formed reaction product is decomposed to the same extent it was previously built up.

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Stuttgart, Germany

Jun Liu