close
Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Nov 25;7(11):3228-3242.
doi: 10.1021/acssensors.2c00938. Epub 2022 Oct 27.

Paramagnetic Sensors for the Determination of Oxygen Concentration in Gas Mixtures

Krzysztof Jasek  1 , Mateusz Pasternak  2 , Michał Grabka  1
Affiliations
Review

Paramagnetic Sensors for the Determination of Oxygen Concentration in Gas Mixtures

Krzysztof Jasek et al. ACS Sens. .

Abstract

One of the most important methods of measuring the concentration of gaseous oxygen uses its paramagnetic properties, thanks to which oxygen molecules are drawn into the area of a strong magnetic field. This Review presents the current state of knowledge, achievements, and development prospects in the field of magnetic oxygen sensors using this phenomenon. We present the theoretical basis of the physical phenomena used in the paramagnetic oxygen sensors. The principles of operation of individual types of paramagnetic oxygen sensors, including the well-established and widely used magnetoacoustic and magnetopneumatic devices as well as the Pauling cells, are also described. In addition, this Review presents the existing and conceptual innovative sensors known mainly from the scientific and patent literature, including refractometric, interferometric, and ultrasonic sensors. This Review also discusses the advantages and limitations of individual devices, indicating the potential areas of their application.

Keywords: Pauling cell; deflection of the paramagnetic gas stream; magnetic gas sensor; magnetoacoustic sensors; oxygen sensor; paramagnetic gas; paramagnetism; thermo magnetic wind.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Molecular orbital diagram of O2. The paramagnetic properties of oxygen are due to the presence of two unpaired electrons in the L shell.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Element of gas volume dV in the nonuniform magnetic field.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic diagram of the Pauling cell.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Photo of the Pauling cell from an ABB Ltd. analyzer. Reprinted with permission from ref (13). Copyright 2006 ABB Review.
Figure 5
Figure 5
MEMS sensor for the paramagnetic oxygen measurements.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Oxygen sensor with a bimorphic resonator.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Design of a magnetoacoustic sensor.
Figure 8
Figure 8
(a) Scheme of the measuring cell. The symbol ⊗ indicates the magnetic field perpendicular to the drawing plane. (b) Pressure distributions inside the ABC gas lines for different oxygen contents in the sample and the reference gas.
Figure 9
Figure 9
A diagram of the operation of one of the types of devices using magnetic wind.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Schematic view of a thermal magnetic wind oxygen sensor.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Structure and principle of operation of the XMO2 sensor from General Electric.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Arrangement of the thermistors in the XMO2 sensor.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Diagram of the construction and operation of the sensors with deflection of the gas stream.
Figure 14
Figure 14
SEM image of a flow separation sensor. Reprinted with permission from ref (4). Copyright 2013 Elsevier.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Sensor response as a function of the oxygen concentration in nitrogen. The gray line shows the reference measurement without the magnetic field. Reprinted with permission from ref (4). Copyright 2013 Elsevier.
Figure 16
Figure 16
(a) Cross section of the sensor with AMR device. (b) Value of the magnetic field perpendicular to the channel.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Scheme of the construction and principle of operation of an oxygen sensor with the giant magneto-resistance (GMR) device.
Figure 18
Figure 18
Fiber-optic magnetostriction sensor design.
Figure 19
Figure 19
Principle of operation of a reflective gas diffraction grating.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jahnke J. A.Continuous Emission Monitoring, 2nd ed.; John Wiley & Sons: New York, 2000.
    1. Bertrand P.Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: Fundamentals; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2020.
    1. Bertrand P.Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: Applications; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2020.
    1. Vonderschmidt S.; Müller J. A fluidic bridge based MEMS paramagnetic oxygen sensor. Sens. Actuators B Chem. 2013, 188, 22–30. 10.1016/j.snb.2013.07.019. - DOI
    1. Spaldin N. A.Magnetic Materials: Fundamentals and Device Applications, 2nd ed.; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2003.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources