Hydrogen-Induced Aggregation of Au@Pd Nanoparticles for Eye- Readable Plasmonic Hydrogen Sensors

Plasmonic materials provide a promising platform for optical hydrogen detection, but their sensitivities remain limited. Herein, a new type of eye-readable H-2 sensor based on Au@Pd core-shell nanoparticle arrays (NAs) is reported. After exposed to 2% H-2, Au@Pd (16/2) NAs demonstrate a dramatic decrease in the optical extinction intensity, along with an obvious color change from turquoise to gray. Experimental results and theoretical calculations prove that the huge optical change resulted from the H-2-induced aggregation of Au@Pd nanoparticles (NPs), which remarkably alters the plasmon coupling effect between NPs. Moreover, we optimize the sensing behavior from two aspects. The first is selecting appropriate substrates (either rigid glass substrate or flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate) to offer moderate adhesion force to NAs, ensuring an efficient aggregation of Au@Pd NPs upon H-2 exposure. The second is adjusting the Pd shell thickness to control the extent of NP aggregation and thus the detection range of the as-prepared sensors. This work highlights the advantage of designing eye-readable plasmonic H(2 )sensors from the aspect of tuning the interparticle plasmonic coupling in NP assemblies. Au@Pd NAs presented here have several advantages in terms of simple fabrication method, eye-readability in air background at room temperature, tunable detection range, and high cost-effectiveness.

Automated summary

This study reports a new eye-readable H-2 sensor based on Au@Pd core-shell nanoparticle arrays. After exposure to 2% H-2, Au@Pd NAs show a significant decrease in optical extinction intensity and a color change due to H-2-induced aggregation of nanoparticles. The sensor performance is optimized by selecting appropriate substrates and adjusting the Pd shell thickness. This work highlights the advantage of designing eye-readable plasmonic H(2) sensors by tuning the interparticle plasmonic coupling in nanoparticle assemblies.