Flexible fiber-shaped hydrogen gas sensor via coupling palladium with conductive polymer gel fiber

Rational design of fiber-shaped gas sensors with both excellent mechanical properties and sensing performance is of great significance for boosting future portable and wearable sensing electronics, however, it is still a challenge. Herein, we develop a novel fiber-shaped hydrogen (H2) sensor by directly electrochemically growing palladium (Pd) sensing layer on conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) fiber electrode. This approach produces free-standing functional fiber (PEDOT:PSS@Pd) with promising mechanical features of flexibility, light weight, knittability and high mechanical strength, and good H2 sensing performance at room temperature. The PEDOT:PSS@Pd fiber sensor exhibits short response time of 34 (± 6) s@1% and 19 (± 4) s@4% H2 and excellent cycling stability. In addition, the fiber sensor remains good sensing behavior under different mechanical bending states, showing potential for constructing wearable sensor devices for timely H2 leak detection. Therefore, this work has provided a smart design strategy of fiber-based gas sensor, offering an effective sensing platform and is believed to stimulate the development of wearable electronics.