Palladium nanofiber networks hydrogen sensor and hydrogen-actuated switches

Abstract

This paper presents a novel fabrication technique for hydrogen gas sensor based on polymer nanofiber and pure palladium metal. The polymer nanofiber was produced from 7 wt% poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) solution through electrospinning system. The multilayer PVA nanofibers was utilized as a substrate to create a networks of palladium nanofibers hydrogen sensor. The palladium nanofiber with a thickness of 30 nm was deposited on the surface of the multilayer PVA nanofibers by using E-beam evaporation system and shadow mask. During the hydrogen detection test, the novel hydrogen sensor was presented as a set of hydrogen-actuated switches with high sensitivity. The fabrication process was simple and inexpensive, and the sensor can be mass-produced.