H2S Sensing in Dry and Humid H2 Environment With p-Type CuO Thick-Film Gas Sensors

In this paper, we report for the first time detailed analysis of a p-type copper oxide based micro-electro-mechanical system gas sensor to low ppm levels of hydrogen sulfide in a pure hydrogen environment and under various operating temperatures and humidity conditions. The p-type metal-oxide sensing response to hydrogen sulfide is reasonably stable and reversible under both dry and humid hydrogen ambiences. The response was sensitive to significant changes in ambient humidity but was found to have no cross sensitivity to carbon monoxide in dry and humid hydrogen. We believe that these copper oxide gas sensors could be exploited in harsh applications, i.e., in a gas contamination detector for testing the quality of hydrogen fuel.