Integrated CuO/Pd Nanospike Hydrogen Sensor on Silicon Substrate

A large area of randomly distributed nanospike as nanostructured template was induced by femtosecond (fs) laser on a silicon substrate in water. Copper oxide (CuO) and palladium (Pd) heterostructured nanofilm were coated on the nanospikes by magnetron sputtering technology and vacuum thermal evaporation coating technology respectively for the construction of a p-type hydrogen sensor. Compared with the conventional gas sensor based on CuO working at high temperature, nanostructured CuO/Pd heterostructure exhibited promising detection capability to hydrogen at room temperature. The detection sensitivity to 1% H-2 was 10.8%, the response time was 198 s, and the detection limit was as low as 40 ppm, presenting an important application prospect in the clean energy field. The excellent reusability and selectivity of the CuO/Pd heterostructure sensor toward H-2 at room temperature were also demonstrated by a series of cyclic response characteristics. It is believed that our room-temperature hydrogen sensor fabricated with a waste-free green process, directly on silicon substrate, would greatly promote the future fabrication of a circuit-chip integrating hydrogen sensor.

Automated summary

This study explores the fabrication of a room-temperature CuO/Pd hydrogen sensor by inducing randomly distributed nanospike structures on a silicon substrate using a femtosecond laser. The sensor exhibits promising detection capability to hydrogen gas, with a high sensitivity, fast response time, and low detection limit. The sensor also demonstrates excellent reusability and selectivity towards H-2 at room temperature, making it suitable for future integration into circuit-chip hydrogen sensors.