Air Quality Sensor for CO and/or particulates

www.jameco.com sells a kit for air quality monitoring mfg by
www.kemo-electronic.com

it uses a heated sensor of some kind, shown as a capacitance symbol on
the schematic.

anyone know the principle behind the sensor used in this kit?

they claim (iirc iianm) that it will detect carbon monoxide as well as
particulates, does this sound reasonable / likely?

otherwise, any recommendations out there for a CO sensor able to pick
up small CO leaks into an automobile passenger area?

tia!

 

It appears to be a catalytic bead sensor.
There's a heating element, that heats a thermistor or
RTD to 400C. The thermistor is coated with tin oxide,
which reacts with CO and HC. The reaction heats the
bead, changing its resistance. The change in ohms is roughly
proportional to the PPM concentration of the gas.

--Gene