Improving Anti-Humidity Property of a SnO₂-Based Chemiresistive Hydrogen Sensor by a Breathable and Hydrophobic...

Metal-oxide-based chemiresistive hydrogen sensors exhibit high sensitivity, long-term stability, and low cost and have been extensively applied in safety monitoring of H₂. However, the sensing performances are dramatically affected by the water vapor, resulting in reduced response value and increased response/recovery time. To improve the anti-humidity property of sensors, coating the breathable and hydrophobic membrane on the surface of the sensing film is an effective strategy. In this work, the poly[4,5-difluoro-2,2-bis(trifluoromethyl)-1,3-dioxole-co-tetrafluoroethylene] (Teflon AF-2400) was dip-coated on the surface of SnO₂ in a commercial hydrogen sensor (TGS2615) as a breathable and hydrophobic membrane. For safety, He instead of H₂ was used to test the gas permeability of membranes. The Teflon membrane shows a high He permeability of up to 40,700 Barrer and an excellent He/H₂O selectivity of 99. Moreover, Teflon shows high processability to form a defect-free coating on the rough surface of the sensing film and high chemical stability under the operando condition of the sensor. Thus, the Teflon-modified sensor possesses excellent selectivity with a value of 5, and the resistance is stable at 10,554 ± 3% Ω for 20 days in 80% RH. The modified sensor shows an improved anti-humidity property with a 75% response to 200 ppm H₂ at 80% RH and has a low coefficient of variation value of 7.23% that shows advances than other reported sensors modified by coatings. The commercially available Teflon and the simple coating technology make the strategy easily scale up and show promising applications.