I am using the Aluminum wire connected to contacts, but platinum is more common as wire in chemiresistor gas sensors. does it make a big difference?
- For gas sensors metal oxides and composite metal oxides are used as chem registrar materials. Metal wires are used for making ohmic contacts. Many use platinum wire because high thermal stability as well as good ohmic conductor.
I agree with Artur. For such resistors you need to have some form of catilisation occurring at the wire surface. Platinum, and gold are all round materials for most such jobs, and will give you good electrical contacts. The aluminium you mention will have a surface oxide which will make it hard to get reliable connection to and as it is a more reactive metal it will tend to react, rather than catalise. Depending on what your are particularly trying to detect, some cheaper materials might be worth trying: Nickel, iron / steel, nichrome, even a tungsten light-bulb filament. (For example, a pain heated steel spring will happily catalyses acetone vapour).
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