A sensor for hydrogen detection and a method of manufacture of the sensor

Abstract

A sensor (1) for detecting a high concentration of hydrogen, comprising an electrically non-conductive carrier substrate (2), at least two electrically conductive electrodes (3, 4) arranged on the carrier substrate (2), a semiconductor layer (5) arranged on the conductive electrodes (3, 4) provided on the side facing away from the side in contact with the conductive electrodes (3, 4) with palladium nanoparticles (6). The essence of the invention lies in the preparation of palladium nanoparticles with an extremely small size from 1 nm to 20 nm and a unique phase composition. The nanoparticles represent a solid solution of oxygen in a crystalline lattice of metallic palladium (Pd+O), the surface of these nanoparticles being partially oxidized and covered with palladium oxide (PdO). The crystal lattice of this system is: (i) face-centered cubic with an increased lattice parameter of 0.4035 nm and (ii) primitive cubic with a lattice parameter of 0.8036 nm.