Bulk-Processed Pd Nanocube–Poly(methyl methacrylate) Nanocomposites as Plasmonic Plastics for Hydrogen Sensing

Iwan Darmadi,Marianne Liebi,Kasper Moth-Poulsen,Alicja Stolaś,Christoph Langhammer,Irem Tanyeli,Ferry Anggoro Ardy Nugroho,Ida Östergren,Matteo Minelli,Olof Andersson,Sarah Lerch,Barbara Berke,Christian Müller,Vladimir P Zhdanov,Anja Lund

doi:10.1021/acsanm.0c01907

Iwan Darmadi, Marianne Liebi + Show 13 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.0c01907

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Abstract

Nanoplasmonic hydrogen sensors are predicted to play a key role in safety systems of the emerging hydrogen economy. Pd nanoparticles are the active material of choice for sensor prototype development due to their ability to form a hydride at ambient conditions, which creates the optical contrast. Here, we introduce plasmonic hydrogen sensors made from a thermoplastic nanocomposite material, that is, a bulk material that can be molded with standard plastic processing techniques, such as extrusion and three-dimensional (3D) printing, while at the same time being functionalized at the nanoscale. Specifically, our plasmonic plastic is composed of hydrogensensitive and plasmonically active Pd nanocubes mixed with a poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix, and we optimize it by characterization from the atomic to the macroscopic level. We demonstrate meltprocessed deactivation-resistant plasmonic hydrogen sensors, which retain full functionality even after SO weeks. From a wider perspective, we advertise plasmonic plastic nanocomposite materials for application in a multitude of active plasmonic technologies since they provide efficient scalable processing and almost endless functional material design opportunities via tailored polymer- colloidal nanocrystal combinations.

Highlights

Nanoparticles supporting localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) enable a wide range of fascinating technologies, where optical bio- and chemosensors[1−6] are of particular interest, and where hydrogen sensors show great promise as a key technology in the emerging hydrogen economy,[6−8] since safety sensors are critical due to H2’s wide flammability range in air
We explore here the application of an inherently scalable paradigm of melt extrusion and 3D printing of plasmonic plastic nanocomposite materials, which are composed of a polymer matrix mixed with plasmonic metal nanoparticles that provide the sensing function
The first step in the process toward a functional plasmonic nanocomposite material for hydrogen sensing is the colloidal synthesis of the desired plasmonic nanocrystals

Summary

Introduction

Nanoparticles supporting localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) enable a wide range of fascinating technologies, where optical bio- and chemosensors[1−6] are of particular interest, and where hydrogen sensors show great promise as a key technology in the emerging hydrogen economy,[6−8] since safety sensors are critical due to H2’s wide flammability range in air In this context, optical plasmonic detection is attractive since it generates no sparks due to the passive nature of the transducer and the remote readout capability of light. A key reason for this situation is that nanofabrication approaches based on nanolithography and vacuum-based thin-film material deposition methods are mostly used for the generation of nanoplasmonic sensing functions aimed at device integration This is both costly and limits the technology to two-dimensional (2D) arrays on flat surfaces. Plasmonic nanoparticles made by colloidal synthesis[11] are very attractive since they offer unrivaled possibilities for size, composition, and structural engineering to, in turn, both maximize sensitivity and optimize optical performance in plasmonic hydrogen sensors.[12,13] even though the self-assembly of colloidal nano-

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