Au-modified spindle ZnO for high efficiency H2 sensors

With the rise of H2 production from water electrolysis, H2 fuel cell and other H2 industry, the development of H2 detection equipment is urgent. In this work, fusiform ZnO sensitive material was synthesized by hydrothermal and photodeposition method, and Au nanoparticles were loaded on its surface by photodeposition method. The size and length of the synthesized samples are about 1 μm and 5 μm, and Au nanoparticles are evenly distributed on the surface. The XRD, FESEM, TEM and XPS characterizations of the Au-loaded ZnO (AZO) composites were collected to investigate their compositions and structures. The as-synthesized materials were applied to fabricate sensors to study their gas sensing performance. After Au modification, the H2 sensing performance of the sensitive material is enhanced obviously. The response of AZO (Au-loaded ZnO) to 100 ppm H2 at 230 °C is 37.6, which is 4.5 times higher than that of pure ZnO. In addition, the cross response of AZO based gas sensor to different gases was evaluated, and its sensing performance was tested for one month. The results show that AZO sensitive materials have good selectivity and long-term stability for H2.