A novel sensor composed
of a nickel-loaded SSZ-13 zeolite membrane
on interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) is demonstrated as a direct electrical
NO2 readout sensor. This NO2 adsorbent is made
by homogeneously loading SSZ-13 zeolite with nickel(II) through a
liquid-phase ion-exchange procedure. Exposure of the zeolite-based
sensor to trace NO2 gas elicits an electrical impedance
response measured at a single frequency. The sensor shows the same
final change in impedance magnitude upon equilibration to different
concentrations of trace NO2 in N2, suggesting
that the occupation and eventual saturation of adsorption sites lead
to the impedance change. However, the NO2 concentration
can be determined through analysis of the rate of impedance change,
where lower concentrations of NO2 lead to larger time constants
with a logarithmic relationship to the NO2 concentration.
Two time constants were observed from the linearized impedance plots,
a fast one (τ1) and a slow one (τ2), where τ2 showed a larger dependence on the NO2 concentration, increasing faster than τ1 as the NO2 concentration decreased. Furthermore, the
Ni-SSZ-13 sensor response is partially reversible in an inert gas
environment, indicating the reversible adsorption of NO2 at nickel surface sites. Under exposure to humid air, differentiation
between humid air and dry 5 ppm NO2 is accomplished by
examination of the real component of the impedance signal. The resulting
NO2 atmosphere shows an increase in the real component
(more resistive), whereas the humid air shows a decrease (more capacitive).
These results indicate that control of metal-ion loading into SSZ-13
may allow these NO2 selective catalytic reduction catalysts
to be further leveraged as low-temperature NO2 sensors.