Optimized hydrogen sensing properties of nanocomposite NiO:Au thin films grown by dual Pulsed Laser Deposition

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that embedding gold nanoparticles into NiO thin films via dual pulsed laser deposition significantly enhances hydrogen sensing performance and reduces operating temperature.

Contribution

It introduces a novel dual laser ablation method to create NiO:Au nanocomposites with improved sensing properties for hydrogen detection.

Findings

Gold nanoparticles improve sensor sensitivity.

Embedding reduces operating temperature.

Performance enhancement by orders of magnitude.

Abstract

Nanocomposite NiO:Au thin films, formed by gold nanoparticles embedded in a nickel oxide matrix, have been grown by reactive pulsed laser deposition (R-PLD). Two actively synchronized nanosecond laser sources, a KrF excimer laser (248 nm) and a Nd:YAG laser (355 nm), were used for the simultaneous ablation of nickel and gold targets in oxygen ambient. The morphology, composition, and optical properties of the obtained nanocomposites were investigated and were found to correlate with the concentration of Au nanoparticles. Further, the NiO:Au nanocomposites have been tested as hydrogen sensors. Embedding Au nanoparticles into the NiO film matrix reduced the sensors operating temperature and improved their performance by orders of magnitude.