Hypersensitive H2 sensor based on polymer planar Bragg gratings coated with Pt-loaded WO3-SiO2.

This Letter demonstrates a novel, to the best of our knowledge, hydrogen sensor based on a polymer planar Bragg grating coated with Pt-loaded WO3-SiO2. The reflected Bragg signal shows a distinct peak splitting correlated to substrate anisotropies originating from the injection molding process. Especially at low H2 concentrations, both sensing peaks exhibit an outstanding response to the heat generated by the exothermic reaction between hydrogen molecules and coating. Thereby, a hydrogen volume ratio of 50 ppm leads to a Bragg wavelength shift of -37pm, which yields an outstandingly low detection limit of only 5 ppm H2 in air. Thus, functionalized polymer planar Bragg gratings are eminently suitable for H2 leak detection applications.