Argonne National Laboratory today reported a new type of hydrogen sensor. As with most hydrogen sensors, Palladium was used for transduction because this metal preferentially absorbs hydrogen. The hydrogen, when absorbed in Pd, changes the resistance of the metal and this resistance change indicates how much hydrogen is in the ambient.
Unlike earlier designs, the Argonne sensor includes a siloxane self-assembled monolayer which apparently makes the response of the sensor faster. What is unclear, however, is how the sensor responds to other "poisoning" gases such as CO and oxygen. This type of cross-sensitivity is a challenge with chemical sensors in general.
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