Hydrogen sensing characteristics from carbon nanotube field emissions.

An innovative hydrogen sensing concept is demonstrated based on the field emission from multi-walled carbon nanotubes, where the low emission currents rise in proportion to hydrogen partial pressures above 10(-9) Torr. Experimental and first principles studies reveal that the sensing mechanism is attributed to the effective work function reduction from dissociative hydrogen chemisorption. The embedded Ni catalyst would assist both the hydrogen dissociation and work function reduction. This technique is promising to build miniature low cost hydrogen sensors for multiple applications. This work is valuable for studies of nanocarbon-gas reaction mechanisms and the work function properties in adsorption related applications, including field emission, hydrogen storage, energy cells, and gas sensing.