Miniaturized Electrochemical Gas Sensor with a Functional Nanocomposite and Thin Ionic Liquid Interface for Highly Sensitive and Rapid Detection of Hydrogen

Abstract

Hydrogen has been widely used in industrial and commercial applications as a carbon-free, efficient energy source. Due to the high flammability and explosion risk of hydrogen–air mixtures, it is vital to develop sensors featuring fast-responding and high sensitivity for hydrogen leakage detection. This paper presents a miniaturized electrochemical gas sensor by elaborately establishing a nanocomposite and thin ionic liquid interface for highly sensitive and rapid electrochemical detection of hydrogen, in which a remarkable response time and recovery time of approximately 6 s was achieved at room temperature. A screen-printed carbon electrode was modified with a reduced graphene oxide–carbon nanotube (rGO-CNT) hybrid and platinum–palladium (Pt–Pd) bimetallic nanoparticles to realize high sensitivity. To achieve miniaturization and high stability of the sensor, a thin-film room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) was employed as the electrolyte with a significantly decreased response time. The fast-responding hydrogen sensor demonstrates excellent performance with high sensitivity, linearity, and repeatability at concentrations below the lower explosive limit of 4 vol %. The engineered high-performance interface and gas sensor provide a promising and effective strategy for gas sensor design and rapid hazardous gas monitoring.