High temperature optical sensing of gas and temperature using Au-nanoparticle incorporated oxides

Au-nanoparticle incorporated metal oxide based sensing layers show significant promise for high temperature optical sensing applications at temperatures approaching 800 °C or even higher depending upon the base oxide material. Several Au-nanoparticle incorporated oxide systems were synthesized and investigated here, namely TiO2, ZrO2, and Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ). Gas (CO, H2, and O2) and temperature sensing responses were observed at wavelengths near the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption peak of the Au nanoparticles and addition of 1% O2 content to a N2 baseline gas stream resulted in significantly enhanced recovery kinetics for H2 sensing. TiO2 films with a relatively small bandgap as compared to ZrO2 and YSZ enabled band-edge monitoring yielding a strong temperature sensing response with minimal cross-correlation to changes in gas composition. Testing of the films in high H2-level gas streams demonstrated that monotonic responses to H2 up to 98% H2 by volume in 2% O2 balance N2 gas streams could be achieved by interrogation at wavelengths shorter than the transmittance minimum associated with the Au LSPR absorption peak. These results collectively demonstrate the importance of careful wavelength selection or broadband wavelength interrogation to minimize cross-correlation between composition and temperature and to optimize the gas sensing response in high temperature gas streams. Although the tested films were stable in the presence of simple gas mixtures (N2, H2, CO, O2) used for gas and temperature sensing experiments, a preliminary study of film stability in a contaminated (H2S-containing) high temperature fuel gas stream relevant for solid oxide fuel cell applications was also carried out and yielded two important conclusions deserving further investigation: (1) enhanced microstructural stability of Au nanoparticle incorporated TiO2 due to grain boundary pinning and (2) significant mass loss of Au with an associated reduction in LSPR absorption.