Preparation and characteristics of Pt/ACC catalyst for thermoelectric thin film hydrogen sensor

A catalyst plays an important role in the thermoelectric (TE) thin film hydrogen sensor which is composed of a Pt catalyst layer and a TE layer. In this paper activated carbon fiber cloth (ACC) was utilized as a support for the Pt catalyst in the TE sensor. The preparation was carried out by an isometric impregnation method. The effects of several parameters, including Pt loading, impregnation time, and reduction temperature, were investigated. Experimental results showed that the sensor possessed good sensing properties to hydrogen at room temperature with a high temperature difference output (47 °C), quick response and recovery abilities (<60 s), and prominent selectivity for hydrogen gas was obtained at working temperatures below 160 °C.