Improvement in Hydrogen Sensing Response of Zinc Oxide Doped with Platinum

Abstract

In this work, the effect of Platinum (Pt) as dopant on the structural, morphological and gas sensing properties of ZnO has been discussed. ZnO and Ptdoped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by facile and cost effective co-precipitation technique. XRD analysis revealed the formation of hexagonal wurtzite structure for pure and doped nanostructures which was further supported by Raman studies.Raman and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) investigations also reveal the presence of defects in doped samples. The morphology of the synthesised samples has been studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). For gas sensing characteristics the synthesized particles were applied as thick film onto an alumina substrate and tested at different operating temperatures for hydrogen gas. Among all samples, 0.05% Pt doped ZnO exhibited enhanced sensing performance towardshydrogen. The increase in sensing response is attributed to presence of defects in doped sample and the catalytic nature of platinum.