Film type solid polymer ionomer sensor and sensor cell
First Claim
1. A sensor cell for detecting a gas comprising:
- a substrate having a surface for depositing electrodes thereon;
an ionomer membrane in contact with said surface and having a first outermost surface and a second outermost surface;
an electrode in contact with said surface of said subsrate;
an opening extending from said first outermost surface to said second outermost surface in a location proximate to said electrode for defining a passage;
a gas in said opening and simultaneously contacting said electrode and said ionomer membrane for providing a three way contact between said gas, electrode, and ionomer membrane within said opening; and
wherein said opening is a non-tortuous path extending from said first outermost surface to said second outermost surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A miniaturized gas sensor including film type electrodes, and a solid ionomer electrolyte, for the detection of toxic gases, i.e., carbon monoxide, and other oxidizable or reducible gases and vapors is described. The all-solid planar sensor cell has two or more film type electrodes arranged on a non-conductive planar surface of a supportive material. The electrodes are discrete and in intimate contact with the same solid polymer ionomer membrane. The sensor cell contains no liquid electrolyte and is operated in a potentiostatic or potentiodynamic mode. The unique feature of the sensor cell is that high sensitivity to a select gas or vapor is achieved by a novel three-phase contact area design for a sensing electrode which is easily accessible to the gas sample via small diffusion openings or holes that penetrate through the solid polymer ionomer membrane layer above the sensing electrode. A significant signal to background noise enhancement is achieved for these film type sensor cells by processes that increase the three-phase contact area.
55 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A sensor cell for detecting a gas comprising:
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a substrate having a surface for depositing electrodes thereon;
an ionomer membrane in contact with said surface and having a first outermost surface and a second outermost surface;
an electrode in contact with said surface of said subsrate;
an opening extending from said first outermost surface to said second outermost surface in a location proximate to said electrode for defining a passage;
a gas in said opening and simultaneously contacting said electrode and said ionomer membrane for providing a three way contact between said gas, electrode, and ionomer membrane within said opening; and
wherein said opening is a non-tortuous path extending from said first outermost surface to said second outermost surface.
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2. A sensor cell for detecting a gas comprising:
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a substrate having a surface for depositing electrodes thereon;
an ionomer membrane in contact with said surface and having a first outermost surface and a second outermost surface;
an electrode in contact with said surface of said substrate;
an opening extending from said first outermost surface to said second outermost surface in a location proximate to said electrode for defining a passage; and
a gas in said opening and simultaneously contacting said electrode and said ionomer membrane for providing a three way contact between said gas, electrode, and ionomer membrane within said opening. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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7. The sensor cell in caim 2 whereby said membrane is an anion, hydroxide ion exchange membrane.
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29. A method for detecting gas, comprising the steps of:
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providing a substrate having a surface;
depositing an electrode on the surface;
contacting an ionomer membrane with the electrode;
providing an opening in the ionomer membrane extending from a first outermost surface to a second outermost surface in an approximate area of the electrode;
introducing a gas into the opening toward the electrode; and
simultaneously contacting the gas with both the electrode and ionomer membrane within the opening. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification