Hydrogen sensing capability of nanostructured titania films

Abstract

The expected wide diffusion of hydrogen in the near future as clean fuel for PEM fuel cells and the potential danger of explosion consequent to the mixing of hydrogen with air, demands the introduction of reliable, robust and low cost hydrogen sensors. Titanium dioxide is a well known sensitive material for hydrogen sensors and the use of suitable titania nanostructures could be an efficient ways to promote the performances of these devices. Aim of this work is then aimed to synthesize and characterize different TiO2 nanostructures and investigate their capability in hydrogen sensing. Preliminary sensing tests here reported give helpful information for the development of MOS hydrogen sensors based on TiO2 nanostructures. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.