Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7721532 | International Journal of Hydrogen Energy | 2013 | 13 Pages |
Abstract
Controlled amounts of chemically synthesised gold (Au) nanoclusters were deposited onto tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanostructured thin films as sensors for hydrogen. The Au/WO3 thin films were characterised by XPS, XRD, SEM and TEM. Performance of Au/WO3 films was tested at operating temperatures varying from room temperature to 450 °C. It was demonstrated that Au metal loading plays an important role in defining enhancement of the sensor response towards hydrogen. “Less is more” principle applies to the reported here sensors as materials made using lower concentration of Au nanoclusters demonstrated significantly better response. HRTEM images of the Au/WO3 thin films provide evidence that the more active sensors are enriched with smaller Au nanoparticles (â¤5 nm). Fast response towards H2 within a wide range of industrially relevant concentrations, excellent baseline stability and signal reproducibility at optimized operating temperature demonstrate feasibility of this novel approach toward fabrication of sensors.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemistry
Electrochemistry
Authors
Muhammad Z. Ahmad, Vladimir B. Golovko, Rohul H. Adnan, Faridah Abu Bakar, Jan-Yves Ruzicka, David P. Anderson, Gunther G. Andersson, Wojtek Wlodarski,