Changes of the electrical conductance of a number of inorganic copper(I) conductive compounds including Cu(12)Sb(4)S(13), Cu(2)O, Cul, CuBr and CuCl were tested on exposure to different gases and vapors, including ammonia, nitrogen monoxide, octanethiol, hydrogen chloride, acetic acid, formic acid, ethanol, humidity and piperidine. The sensitivity of the resistivity to ammonia was estimated as 2.7%/ppm for CuBr. 1.4%/ppm for Cu(2)O, 1.2%/ppm for CuCl, 0.013%/ppm for Cul, but only 0.0028%/ppm for Cu(12)Sb(4)S(13). The highest selectivity for ammonia was observed for Cu(12)Sb(4)S(13). The sensitivity patterns of these materials to the tested gases and vapors are very different which makes them applicable for sensor arrays for identification and quantification of these species. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.