Patent ID: 7527718

Claim:
A method of treating a NOx sensor element for improving measurement characteristics thereof, said NOx sensor element including an electrochemical cell provided by forming, on a suitable solid electrolyte, a measuring electrode which is capable of reducing or decomposing a gas component having a bound oxygen in a measurement gas and which is formed of a cermet of a noble metal material and a ceramic material, said NOx sensor element being arranged to reduce or decompose said gas component by said measuring electrode and to measure an amount of oxygen generated upon reduction or decomposition of said gas component, for obtaining a concentration of said gas component in said measurement gas, said method comprising: heating said NOx sensor element at a temperature of 600-1000° C. for 3-24 hours in a treatment atmosphere in which an oxygen concentration is regulated to be not higher than 0.2% and in which are included: (A) not lower than 1000 ppm of an adsorptive gas component wherein an adsorptive capable of being adsorbed on the measuring electrode is bound to oxygen; and (B) a combustible gas in an amount that can be substantially stoichiometrically oxidized by oxygen that is generated upon reduction or decomposition of said adsorptive gas component, so that said adsorptive gas component is reduced or decomposed for permitting said adsorptive in said adsorptive gas component to be adsorbed on said measuring electrode, and so that said noble metal material of said measuring electrode is reduced.