Open AccessFundamental Basis for Distinctive Sensing of H 2 in Humid Environment
Author(s) -
Wang Zhuo,
Deng Mengjie,
Xia Xiaohong,
Gao Yun,
Shao Guosheng
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
energy and environmental materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2575-0356
DOI - 10.1002/eem2.12015
Subject(s) - hydrogen , humidity , materials science , rutile , anatase , thin film , leakage (economics) , schottky barrier , chemical engineering , catalysis , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , chemistry , physics , meteorology , photocatalysis , biochemistry , organic chemistry , diode , engineering , economics , macroeconomics
Accurate sensing of trace amount of hydrogen without interference from environment is highly desirable in timely detection of possible leakage when using hydrogen as a clean energy source. Humidity in air is usually considered as the main challenge to the performance of room temperature hydrogen sensors. In this work, we have demonstrated distinctive sensing of H 2 in humid environment at room temperature, using (002) oriented TiO 2 thin film as active sensing material. Through first‐principle calculations in the framework of density functional theory, we have clarified the interaction between H 2 O and rutile TiO 2 (002) surface. It was found that H 2 O can be easily split into –H and – OH with a negligible activation energy below 0.07 eV on the TiO 2 (002) surface. Catalytic splitting of water has rather little effect on the height of Schottky barrier between Pt and the TiO 2 (002) surface, thus resulting in ignorable impact on hydrogen sensing property. The (002) oriented TiO 2 thin film hydrogen sensor could be utilized in various humid environment at room temperature.