Room-Temperature Catalyst Enables Selective Acetone Sensing

Catalytic packed bed filters ahead of gas sensors can drastically improve their selectivity, a key challenge in medical, food and environmental applications. Yet, such require high operation temperatures (usually some hundreds °C) impeding integration into low-power (e.g., battery-driven) devices. Here, we reveal room-temperature catalytic that facilitate highly selective acetone sensing, breath marker for body fat burn monitoring. Varying the Pt content between 0–10 mol% during flame spray pyrolysis resulted Al2O3 nanoparticles decorated with Pt/PtOx clusters predominantly 5–6 nm size, as revealed by X-ray diffraction electron microscopy. Most importantly, contents above 3 removed up to 100 ppm methanol, isoprene ethanol completely already at 40 °C relative humidity, while was mostly preserved, confirmed mass spectrometry. When combined an inexpensive, chemo-resistive sensor flame-made Si/WO3, detected selectivity (≥225) over these interferants next H2, CO, form-/acetaldehyde 2-propanol. Such do not additional heating anymore, thus are attractive mobile health care devices monitor, instance, lifestyle changes gyms, hospitals or home.