The potential application of ultrafine cerium oxide (ceria, ) as an oxygen gas sensor has been investigated. Ceria was synthesized by a thermochemical process: first, a precursor powder was prepared by spray drying cerium-nitrate solution. Heat treatment in air was then performed to evaporate the volatile components in the precursor, thereby forming nanostructured having a size of approximately 20 nm and specific surface area of 100 . After sintering with loosely compacted samples, hydrogen-reduction heat treatment was performed at 773K to increase the degree of non-stoichiometry, x, in . In this manner, the electrical conductivity and oxygen-response ability could be enhanced by increasing the number of oxygen vacancies. After the hydrogen reduction at 773K, was obtained with nearly the same initial crystalline size and surface. The response time measured at room temperature was extremely short at 4 s as compared to 14 s for normally sintered . We believe that this hydrogen-reduced ceria can perform capably as a high-performance oxygen sensor with good response abilities even at room temperature.

• Dong-Won Lee