Highly Durable Chemoresistive Micropatterned PdAu Hydrogen Sensors: Performance and Mechanism

Hydrogen (H2) is a promising alternative energy source for Net-zero, but the risk of explosion requires accurate and rapid detection systems. As the use of H2 energy expands, sensors require high performance in a variety of properties. Palladium (Pd) is an attractive material for H2 detection due to its high H2 affinity and catalytic properties. However, poor stability caused by volume changes and reliability due to environmental sensitivity remain obstacles. This study proposes a micropatterned thin film of PdAu with optimized composition (Pd0.62Au0.38) as a chemoresistive sensor to overcome these issues. At room temperature, the sensor has a wide detection range of 0.0002% to 5% and a fast response time of 9.5 s. Significantly, the sensor exhibits excellent durability for repeated operation (>35 h) in 5% H2 and resistance to humidity and carbon monoxide. We also report a negative resistivity change in PdAu, which is opposite to that of Pd. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to investigate the resistance change. DFT analysis revealed that H2 penetrates specific interstitial sites, causing partial lattice compression. The lattice compression causes a decrease in electrical resistance. This work is expected to contribute to the development of high-performance H2 sensors using Pd-based alloys.