Room Temperature Oxygen Sensors

Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA

a. Sixteen identical oxygen sensors on a PCB chip with insert shows the detail of Graphene-TiO₂ deposited between gold electrodes. b. A SEM image of the Graphene-TiO₂ hybrid material for oxygen sensing. (Image: NASA)

Traditional oxygen sensors, including potentiometric and amperometric sensor designs, have significant drawbacks, as metal oxide gas sensors require high temperature operation of about 300 °C, and suffer from high power consumption. NASA Ames Research Center has developed novel oxygen sensors made of a hybrid material comprising graphene and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) that is capable of detecting O₂ gas at room temperature and ambient pressure. The sensors have fast response and recovery times and can also be used to detect ozone. The sensors can be integrated into wearable-sized Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

With ultraviolet (UV) illumination, these sensors are capable of detecting oxygen (O₂) gas at room temperature and at ambient pressure. The sensors can detect oxygen at concentrations ranging from about 0.2 percent to about 10 percent by volume under 365nm UV light, and at concentrations ranging from 0.4 percent to 20 percent by volume under short wave 254nm UV light. These sensors have fast response and recovery times and can also be used to detect ozone. This unique room temperature O₂ sensor provides significant advantages in O₂ sensing applications, especially those applications where high operating temperature requirements cannot be met or would result in inefficient manufacturing processes.

Since graphene is not intrinsically responsive to O₂, and TiO₂ is not responsive to oxygen at room temperature, the materials are first synthesized as a hybrid material. The synthesized graphene-TiO₂ hybrid material is then ultrasonicated and then drop-casted onto a series of Interdigitated Electrodes (IDE) to form the sensors. Ultrasonication ensures effective charge transfer at the graphene-TiO₂ interphase.

The graphene and the titanium dioxide may be present in the composite material in different ratios to ensure optimal oxygen detection. It is the combination of graphene with TiO₂ that yields a semiconducting material capable of O₂ sensing at room-temperature operation.

The sensor chip is mass producible and has the potential to scale to thousands or millions of units relatively easily as well as inexpensively via automated wafer-scale manufacturing processes. Applications include oxygen sensor manufacturers; automotive combustion control and emissions control applications; chemical sensing; environmental monitoring; laboratory safety; space suits and helmets, and more.

NASA is actively seeking licensees to commercialize this technology. Please contact NASA’s Licensing Concierge at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call at 202-358-7432 to initiate licensing discussions. For more information, visit here .