Water photolysis effect on the long-term stability of a fiber optic hydrogen sensor with Pt/WO₃

One of the technological challenges for hydrogen sensors is long-term stability and reliability. In this article, the UV-light irradiation was introduced into the hydrogen sensing process based on water photolysis effect of Pt/WO₃. Ascribing to that, fiber optic hydrogen sensor with Pt/WO₃ nanosheets as the sensing element was demonstrated with significantly improved performance of stability. Under UV irradiation, the hydrogen sensor exhibits higher sensitivity and resolution together with a smaller error range than that without UV irradiation. The enhanced performance could be attributed to the effective decomposition of water produced in the hydrogen sensing process due to the water photolysis effect of Pt/WO₃. The influence of the water on stability was evaluated using experimental results, and the UV irradiation to remove water was analysed by theoretical and FT-IR spectra. This work provides new strategy of UV-light irradiation to promote the long-term stability of hydrogen sensor using Pt/WO₃ as the sensing element.