Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho

Masami Ouki

Masatoshi Suzuki

Naoto Miwa

Katsuhiko Tanaka

Toshitaka Saito

Masatosi Suzuki

Hitoshi Niwa

Yoshinori Akiyama

Hiromi Sano

Osami Kamigaito

Haruo Doi

Masahiro Hamaya

Kazuyuki Ito

Yoshiharu Hirose

A process for producing a cordierite ceramic product comprises blending a starting cordierite composition which comprises:

Process for producing cordierite ceramic products

An oxygen concentration sensor including a solid electrolyte member having two portions, one portion being exposed to a gas of interest and the other portion being exposed to the atmosphere, an inner cover formed with a first space communicating portion arranged to communicate with the other portion of the solid electrolyte member, and a water-proof cover enclosing the inner cover to define a ventilating passage between the inner cover and the water-proof cover and formed with a second space communicating portion maintaining the first space communicating portion of the inner cover in communication with the atmosphere through the ventilating passage. The second space communicating portion of the water-proof cover is axially spaced apart from the first space communicating portion of the inner cover by a predetermined distance. Also included is structure to prohibit the flow of water through said ventilating passage. The second space communicating portion is separated from this structure.

Oxygen concentration sensor

A solid electrolyte for an oxygen concentration sensor is provided by mixing ZrO.sub.2 and about 6.5 to about 8% by mol of a stabilizer such as Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, grinding the mixture to give a BET specific surface area of about 9 to 20 m.sup.2 /g, adding to the ground mixture a forming aid, forming the mixture into a predetermined configuration and firing the formed mixture at about 1420.degree. to 1570.degree. C. The electrolyte has a surface-average grain size of about 5 microns or less and a structure of a cubic phase alone at the surface thereof and, furthermore, may contain about 5% or less of a monoclinic phase per the total of the cubic and monoclinic phases, in a finely ground state.

Solid electrolyte for use in oxygen concentration sensor

A solid electrolyte for an oxygen concentration sensor is provided by mixing ZrO.sub.2 and about 7.5 to 8.5% by mol of a stabilizer such as Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, grinding the mixture to have a BET specific surface are of about 9 to 20 m.sup.2 /g, adding to the ground mixture a forming aid, forming the mixture into a predetermined configuration and firing the formed mixture at about 1420.degree. to 1520.degree. C. The electrolyte has a surface-average grain size of about 5 microns or less and a structure of a cubic phase alone at the surface thereof and even in a finely ground state.

A solid electrolyte for an oxygen concentration sensor is provided by mixing ZrO.sub.2 and about 6.5 to 7% by mol of a stabilizer such as Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, grinding the mixture to give a BET specific surface area of about 9 to 20 m.sup.2 /g, adding to the ground mixture a forming aid, forming the mixture into a predetermined configuration and firing the formed mixture at about 1420.degree. to 1480.degree. C. The electrolyte has a surface-average grain size of about 5 microns or less and a structure of a cubic phase and a monoclinic and/or tetragonal phase at the surface thereof and, furthermore, may contain about 5% or less of a monoclinic phase per the total of the cubic and monoclinic phases, in a finely ground state.

An oxygen concentration sensing apparatus in which a block of an oxygen-ion conductive solid electrolyte is interposed between a first electrode and a second electrode disposed opposite to each other. The first electrode is made of a catalytic metal and is exposed at a portion thereof on a surface of the solid electrolyte block, and an electrical insulating heat-resistive layer having a plurality of communication pores covers the exposed portion of the first electrode. The second electrode is porous and made of a catalytic metal. The solid electrolyte is wholly exposed to a stream of gases containing oxygen whose concentration is to be measured, and during measurement, a current source supplies continuously an electric current in a direction from the first electrode toward the second electrode. When the partial pressure of oxygen gas produced at the first electrode and existing in the vicinity thereof exceeds a predetermined value, the excess pressure portion of oxygen gas is discharged into the stream of gases through the communication pores of the heat-resistive layer thereby maintaining substantially constant the partial pressure of oxygen gas in the vicinity of the first electrode. An electromotive force representing the ratio between the partial pressure of oxygen around the first electrode and that in the stream of gases containing oxygen is measured to determine the concentration of oxygen contained in the gases.

Oxygen concentration sensing apparatus

In an oxygen concentration sensing apparatus comprising a solid, oxygen ion conductive, electrolyte and intervening between two electrodes to generate across the two electrodes a potential difference due to a difference in oxygen concentrations at the boundaries between the two electrodes and the solid electrolyte, one of the two electrodes is made of a metal performing catalytic action, one end portion of the one electrode is embedded in the solid electrolyte to be fixed thereby, the other end portion of the one electrode projects outwardly of the solid electrolyte, a portion of the one electrode contacting with an outer surface of the solid electrolyte is hermetically sealed with a nonconductive layer of a heat-resistant material, and the other electrode is made of a porous metal performing catalytic action and is disposed on the outer surface of the solid electrolyte but preventing the other electrode from being in contact with the one electrode. Further, the oxygen concentration sensing apparatus may be provided with an electric circuit for making an electric current flow intermittently from the one electrode through the solid electrolyte to the other electrode thereby to maintain the oxygen concentration at the boundary between the one electrode and the solid electrolyte at a constant level.

A sintered body of zirconia material for an oxygen concentration sensor exhibiting an electromotive force in accordance with the difference in the concentration of oxygen between a gas tested and a reference gas, consisting essentially of partially stabilized sintered zirconia and at least one additive selected from the group of yttrium oxide, calcium oxide and ytterbium oxide which zirconia has a cubic phase and a monoclinic phase existing in mingling relation. The ratio of the X-ray diffraction intensity of the surface (111) of the monoclinic phase to the X-ray diffraction intensity of the surface (111) of the cubic phase or the ratio I(111)/I(111) is in the range between 0.05 and 0.40, and the value of the X-ray diffraction intensity ratio caused by heating the sintered zirconia material to, and holding the same at, the temperature range between 200.degree. and 300.degree. C. minus the former ratio of the X-ray diffraction intensity is in the range between -0.05 and +0.10.

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Nagoya, Japan

Masami Ouki