Hydrocarbon sensing with thick and thin film p-type conducting perovskite materials

The members of the p-type semiconducting SrTi1−xFexO3−δ family of perovskites have been studied as novel materials for hydrocarbon sensor applications. Screen-printed thick film devices are contrasted to thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). In order to enhance sensor specificity towards hydrocarbons, the influence of iron content, x, film thickness and operating temperature in the range from 300 to 500 °C has been investigated. In addition, the use of a catalytically active cover layer made of a platinum-doped zeolite has been successfully studied to reduce the influence of species with cross-interference. An initial model explaining the underlying sensing mechanism is proposed.