Design and fabrication of highly selective H2 sensors based on SIM-1 nanomembrane-coated ZnO nanowires

High quality hydrogen sensors are of an utmost importance in many industrial applications to efficiently address the safety issues concerning the production, delivering, storage and use of H-2 gas. Recently a special effort has been devoted to modification of semiconductor metal oxides in order to improve their gas sensing characteristics. In this context here we report on the preparation of a novel ZnO-based semiconductor sensor modified by a thin SIM-1 hydrogen selective membrane serving as an efficient molecular sieving layer. Compared to pristine ZnO sensors, the optimized SIM-1 coated ZnO nanowires showed remarkable selectivity towards H-2 at high temperatures (300 degrees C) in the presence of numerous interfering gases (CH3COCH3, CH4, C7H8, C2H5OH and C6H6) thus confirming the efficiency of such sensor material for hydrogen detection. (c) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.