Application of Graphene Gas Sensors in Online Monitoring of SF6 Insulated Equipment

Graphene is an allotrope of carbon apart from graphite, diamond, fullerene and carbon nanotubes. Because graphene has unique mechanical, structural, thermal and electrochemical properties and can present the stability characteristics of these features, it becomes two-dimensional (2-d) materials which can alter three-dimensional (3-d) carbon nanotubes composite materials and has important research value. Pristine graphene and graphene films doped with Au nanoparticles were synthesized by the chemical reduction method. Their corresponding gas sensors were both fabricated by the traditional drop coating method and then used as an adsorbent for the detection of H2S, SO2, SOF2 and SO2F2 at room temperature. Theoretical simulation was also investigated when the decomposed gaseous components of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), namely, H2S, SO2, SOF2 and SO2F2, were adsorbed on pristine and Au-embedded graphene based on DFT. In order to interpret the adsorption processes between Au-doped graphene and gas molecules, this chapter discussed the charge transfer mechanism on the adsorption surface for further investigation.