From Titanium Foil to Gas Sensor: Nanoporous Anodic Titania as a Functional Material

Edwin Bogdan¹, Christoph Weidmann¹ and Thomas Waitz^1,

¹Department of Chemistry Education, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany

Cite this paper:
Edwin Bogdan, Christoph Weidmann and Thomas Waitz. From Titanium Foil to Gas Sensor: Nanoporous Anodic Titania as a Functional Material. World Journal of Chemical Education. 2023; 11(3):54-59. doi: 10.12691/wjce-11-3-6

Abstract

We present a gas sensor using nanoporous titanium dioxide which is fabricated by anodic oxidation of a titanium foil. The process is easy to handle, can be carried out at low cost and the sensor response to reducing gases can be measured using a cheap digital multimeter. In contrast to the most gas sensors, no commercially available sensor substrate is required. The band model for semiconductors and a model of ionosorption provides an explanation for the working principle of the gas sensor on particle level. Several experimental approaches for upper-secondary chemistry class are presented.

Keywords:
gas sensor titanium dioxide band model

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