Dr. Narendra Kumar

In this paper, we have developed palladium (Pd) and platinum (Pt) nanoclusters decorated novel and cost-effective semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs)-based hydrogen sensors. The metal oxide-based sensors require relatively high temperatures to operate. To overcome this, metal nanoparticle decorated CNT-based sensors are fabricated to operate at 300 \u02daK (room temperature). The SWNT network between the metal electrodes is decorated with Pd and Pt metal nanoclusters. In combined nanoclusters of Pd\/Pt, Pd is a good absorber of hydrogen, and Pt is good for the spillover effect and thermal stability. The fabricated sensors demonstrated a fast response and recovery at room temperature. The sensing measurements were done for hydrogen concentrations of 0.5%, 0.7%, and 1%. The response and recovery times with 0.5% hydrogen concentration were found to be ~ 2.0 s and ~ 26.0 s, respectively, at room temperature. The fabricated sensor is a potential candidate for monitoring hydrogen use in petroleum refining, nuclear reactors, and electronic industries.