Highly Permeable Fluorinated Polymer Nanocomposites for Plasmonic Hydrogen Sensing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Cost-effective, mass-producible hydrogen sensors are vital for the growing hydrogen economy.
• Current plasmonic hydrogen detection in polymer nanocomposites is hindered by slow hydrogen diffusion through the polymer matrix.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a hydrogen sensor utilizing melt-processed nanocomposites with enhanced hydrogen diffusion.
• To overcome the limitations of slow analyte diffusion in polymer-based plasmonic sensors.

Main Methods:

• Compounding amorphous fluorinated polymers with colloidal palladium (Pd) nanoparticles synthesized via continuous flow methods.
• Fabricating thick (up to 100 μm) nanocomposite films using melt-processing techniques.
• Evaluating hydrogen diffusion coefficients and sensor response times.

Main Results:

• Achieved a high hydrogen diffusion coefficient (10^-5 cm^2 s^-1) in the fluorinated polymer nanocomposites.
• Demonstrated rapid plasmonic optical hydrogen detection with response times as short as 2.5 s at 100 mbar H2.
• Overcame diffusion limitations in thick (100 μm) melt-processed nanocomposites.

Conclusions:

• Melt-processed fluorinated polymer nanocomposites enable fast plasmonic hydrogen sensing.
• This approach facilitates the development of a new generation of robust and responsive hydrogen sensors.
• Scalable synthesis of Pd nanoparticles and melt-processing are key to enabling practical applications.