Rationally Designed PdAuCu Ternary Alloy Nanoparticles for Intrinsically Deactivation-Resistant Ultrafast Plasmonic Hydrogen Sensing
Journal article, 2019

Hydrogen sensors are a prerequisite for the implementation of a hydrogen economy due to the high flammability of hydrogen-air mixtures. They are to comply with the increasingly stringent requirements set by stakeholders, such as the automotive industry and manufacturers of hydrogen safety systems, where sensor deactivation is a severe but widely unaddressed problem. In response, we report intrinsically deactivation-resistant nanoplasmonic hydrogen sensors enabled by a rationally designed ternary PdAuCu alloy nanomaterial, which combines the identified best intrinsic attributes of the constituent binary Pd alloys. This way, we achieve extraordinary hydrogen sensing metrics in synthetic air and poisoning gas background, simulating real application conditions. Specifically, we find a detection limit in the low ppm range, hysteresis-free response over 5 orders of magnitude hydrogen pressure, subsecond response time at room temperature, long-term stability, and, as the key, excellent resistance to deactivating species like carbon monoxide, notably without application of any protective coatings. This constitutes an important step forward for optical hydrogen sensor technology, as it enables application under demanding conditions and provides a blueprint for further material and performance optimization by combining and concerting intrinsic material assets in multicomponent nanoparticles. In a wider context, our findings highlight the potential of rational materials design through alloying of multiple elements for gas sensor development, as well as the potential of engineered metal alloy nanoparticles in nanoplasmonics and catalysis.

palladium

hydrogen sensor

CO-resistance

carbon monoxide

nanoplasmonic sensor

nanofabrication

copper

Author

Iwan Darmadi

Chalmers, Physics, Chemical Physics

Ferry Nugroho

Chalmers, Physics, Chemical Physics

Shima Kadkhodazadeh

Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

Jakob B. Wagner

Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

Christoph Langhammer

Chalmers, Physics, Chemical Physics

ACS Sensors

23793694 (eISSN)

Vol. 4 5 1424-1432

Subject Categories

Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics

Chemical Engineering

Other Physics Topics

Areas of Advance

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Infrastructure

Chalmers Materials Analysis Laboratory

Nanofabrication Laboratory

DOI

10.1021/acssensors.9b00610

PubMed

31056911

More information

Latest update

1/3/2024 9