Hydrogen gas sensor based on nanofibers TiO2-PVP thin film at room temperature prepared by electrospinning

Abstract

TiO2/PVP nanofibers (NFs) have been deposited onto glass substrate by electrospinning method. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the formation of anatse phase with high crystallinity and Field emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy observations reveal the formation of fibrous nanostructure with a mean diameter in the range 41–281 nm and high porosity. A sensor was fabricated based on TiO2/PVP nanofibers (NFs) by sputtering Pt electrodes onto glass substrate and hydrogen (H2)-sensing performance was examined at room temperature over broad range of concentrations (167–1000 ppm). The results show that the sensor has good response towards H2 with a good sensitivity reaching 63% upon exposure to 1000 ppm of H2 gas at a low power consumption of 60 mW. The improved sensing performance is associated with surface morphology, high porosity and high surface-to-volume ratio of one-dimensional NFs.