An artificial olfactory system (AOS) for detection of highly toxic gases in air based on YCoO3

An artificial olfactory system (AOS) for the detection of highly toxic gases in air is presented. The AOS is based on YCoO 3 perovskites. Previous researches of the authors already showed that YCoO 3 is characterized by a satisfactory sensitivity toward CO, by a large response speed, and by a very low cross sensitivity to water vapor and hydrocarbons. The sensors used in the AOS are based on non-stoichiometric materials or on materials containing platinum or palladium. The introduction of defects allowed to modify the gas sensing properties and to tune the sensor array to the selected application. Satisfactory results, in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, response speed, power consumption and stability, were obtained with mixtures of air and CO and NO x .