AuPt bimetal-codecorated ZnO nanowire-based hydrogen sensors for detecting low concentration hydrogen gas with high response and selectivity

ZnO nanowires decorated with bimetallic AuPt nanoparticles were synthesized using the vapor-liquid-solid method, followed by sputtering and thermal annealing, to fabricate highly sensitive and selective sensors for detecting ppb scale hydrogen gas. The proposed sensor demonstrated a clear pattern enough to recognize, even for 100 ppb hydrogen gas. The sensing responses of the pristine and AuPt bimetal-codecorated ZnO nanowire-based sensors were 1.09 and 7.3 for 100 ppb hydrogen gas, respectively. The sensing response of the proposed sensor is seven times as the decoration of AuPt nanoparticles. Furthermore, the proposed sensor exhibited excellent sensing selectivity for various interfering gases including ethanol, acetone, toluene, CO, and H2S. The proposed sensor shows excellent sensing performance because of synergistic effect of decorated AuPt, which play the role of catalysts. Therefore, hydrogen sensors showing superior sensing performance can be fabricated using this nanomaterial, and its advanced sensing performances are analyzed in this study.