Identification and quantification of alcohol by a micro gas sensor based on adsorption and combustion

Abstract The responses to eight kinds of alcohols including structural isomers were measured with a micro gas sensor of adsorption/combustion-type, which was operated by a mode of pulse heating for 0.2 s up to a desired temperature from 100 to 450 °C after adsorption at room temperature for 9.8 s. A large response peak was observed due to flash catalytic combustion of adsorbed molecules on Pd/γ-Al2O3 upon a sharp increase in sensor temperature by pulse heating. The integral sensitivity (the area of the response peak) increased with increasing the number of carbon atoms involved in the alcohol molecules. The response shape and more notably its differential profile were dependent on the molecular structure and chain length. From such different response profiles, it was possible to identify and quantify the eight kinds of alcohols examined.

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