ELECTROCHEMICAL GAS SENSOR AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING GAS COMPONENTS

An electrochemical gas sensor and a method for determining the concentration of gaseous components in a gas mixture, particularly of NOx in exhaust gases of internal combustion engines. The gas sensor includes a first measuring-gas compartment which is in communication with the measuring gas, and two additional measuring-gas compartments which are connected to the first measuring-gas compartment via diffusion barriers. The first measuring-gas compartment contains a first pump cell which, with the aid of pump electrodes arranged on a solid electrolyte, transports oxygen into and out of the measuring-gas compartment. The second and third measuring-gas compartments contain further pump cells, the second measuring-gas compartment being used for measuring the oxygen concentration of the mixture, and the third measuring-gas compartment being used for measuring the sum of the oxygen concentration and the concentration of the gaseous component in the gas mixture. The pump current measured between two pump electrodes arranged on a solid electrolyte is used by both amperometric measuring pump cells as a measured quantity, and a measuring signal proportional to the concentration of the gaseous component to be determined is obtained through subtraction of both pump currents.