Direct in situ spectroscopic evidence of the crucial role played by surface oxygen vacancies in the O(2)-sensing mechanism of SnO(2)

Conductometric gas sensors (CGS) provide a reproducible gas response at a low cost but their operation mechanisms are still not fully understood. In this paper, we elucidate the nature of interactions between SnO(2), a common gas-sensitive material, and O(2), a ubiquitous gas central to the detection mechanisms of CGS. Using synchrotron radiation, we investigated a working SnO(2) sensor under operando conditions via near-ambient pressure (NAP) XPS with simultaneous resistance measurements, and created a depth profile of the variable near-surface stoichiometry of SnO(2−x) as a function of O(2) pressure. Our results reveal a correlation between the dynamically changing surface oxygen vacancies and the resistance response in SnO(2)-based CGS. While oxygen adsorbates were observed in this study we conclude that these are an intermediary in oxygen transport between the gas phase and the lattice, and that surface oxygen vacancies, not the observed oxygen adsorbates, are central to response generation in SnO(2)-based gas sensors.