Tunable Fabry-Perot Resonator with Dynamic Structural Color: A Visual and Ultrasensitive Hydrogen Sensor

Hydrogen detection is crucial for the forthcoming hydrogen economy. Here, we present a visual, ultrasensitive, optical hydrogen sensor based on a tunable Fabry-Perot (FP) resonator, which can fully release the volume expansion of palladium during hydrogenation and transfer this volume expansion into an optical signal. The FP resonator consists of a suspended polymethylmethacrylate/palladium (PMMA/Pd) bilayer on a gold (Au) square-hole array. The bottom of the gold square hole and hydrogen-sensitive PMMA/Pd bilayer form a dynamically tunable FP resonator. When hydrogen gas (H-2) is loaded, the hydrogen-induced lateral expanding stress concavely deforms the suspended bilayer downward to the substrate, narrowing the metal-air-metal gap at the center of the hole, and finally leading to a spectral blue shift. Our experimental results show a giant spectral shift of 279 nm with a reflectance variation of 57% on exposure to 0.6% H2 mixed with air. Such an ultrahigh optical response results in a significant color change, enabling visual hydrogen detection. In addition, the sensor has a H-2 detection limit down to 0.1% and good recyclability. These advantages indicate that the sensor has excellent potential for hydrogen sensing applications.

Automated summary

In this article, a visual, ultrasensitive, optical hydrogen sensor based on a tunable Fabry-Perot resonator is introduced, which can convert the volume expansion of palladium during hydrogenation into an optical signal and enable visual detection of hydrogen. The experimental results show a giant spectral shift of 279 nm when exposed to 0.6% hydrogen, indicating the excellent potential of this sensor for hydrogen sensing applications.