Evaluation of high-temperature hydrogen sensors based on BaCe0.6Zr0.3Y0.1O3-alpha and Sr(Ce0.9Zr0.1)(0.95)Yb0.05O3-alpha perovskites for industrial applications

In many industrial fields, there is a need to design and characterize on-line and on-board hydrogen monitoring tools able to operate under extreme conditions. One of these applications is in future nuclear fusion reactors, which will use hydrogen isotopes as a plasma fuel. In this context, the measurement of the concentration of these hydrogen isotopes will be of interest to ensure the correct operating conditions for such reactors. Hydrogen sensors based on solid-state electrolytes will be the first step in the development of new analytical tools able to quantify deuterium and tritium in aggressive environments. In the present work, amperometric hydrogen sensors were constructed and evaluated using two solid-state electrolytes, BaCe0.6Zr0.3Y0.1O3-alpha and Sr(Ce0.9Zr0.1)(0.95)Yb0.05O3-alpha. Prototype sensors were built in order to study their sensitivity in on-line measurements. The experiments were performed in a reactor with a hydrogen-controlled environment. The sensors were evaluated at 500 and 600 degrees C in amperometric mode by applying 2 and 4 V voltages between electrodes. Both sensors showed increases in sensitivity when the temperature or voltage were increased.