Electrochemical Hydrogen Sensor Assembly for Monitoring High‐Concentration Hydrogen

Abstract

The demand for hydrogen energy is rapidly increasing because of its clean, abundant, and efficient nature. To utilize hydrogen gas as a fuel for fuel‐cell vehicles, several types of hydrogen sensors are needed to address cost and safety issues. Precise monitoring of hydrogen gas concentration is critical in optimizing vehicle fuel‐cell efficiency. Herein, a fully packaged hydrogen sensor to continuously measure a hydrogen concentration of 20–100% with environmental variations is fabricated, including temperature (from −40 to 105 °C), humidity (from 10 to 98 RH%), and pressure (from 30 to 350 kPa). A signal‐processing circuit is designed to reduce the error rate, and a sensor chip and printed circuit board are assembled in a module using a packaging process with robust materials for harsh vehicle environments. The result herein suggests direct application of the sensor to monitor hydrogen concentration in the hydrogen recirculation unit in a fuel‐cell vehicle.

Review—Recent Progress in the Design of Chemical Hydrogen Sensors

“…65 The wide range of uses for electrochemical hydrogen sensors, such as monitoring hydrogen energy systems, ensuring industrial safety, and monitoring the environment, is due to their distinctive features. 52,66,67 Despite this, electrochemical hydrogen sensors have certain restrictions. The selection of catalyst and the steadiness of the electrode surface can influence the sensor's effectiveness.…”

Construction of trace hydrogen detection system based on distributed feedback fiber laser

“…Thus, the development of safe, reliable, and highly sensitive hydrogen sensors holds paramount importance, particularly for trace hydrogen detection in fields such as mining, food processing, and metallurgy 1 , 2 . Multiple hydrogen sensing technologies have been reported, such as electrochemical sensors, 3 – 5 semiconductor sensors, 6 – 8 and thermoelectric sensors 9 – 11 These sensors have high precision and stability while risk of ignition due to potential sparks.…”

Rapid and stable hydrogen detection based on Pd-modified WO3 nanosheets

“…3 Various hydrogen sensors based on different mechanisms have been reported. [4][5][6] Among them, chemo-resistive-type sensors based on semiconductor metal oxides are considered promising due to their high response, good reversibility, low cost and low power consumption. [7][8][9][10] Transition metal oxides including ZnO, 11 In 2 O 3 , 12 SnO 2 , [13][14][15] NiO, 16 WO 3 , 17,18 and TiO 2 19 are used for sensing.…”

“…3 Various hydrogen sensors based on different mechanisms have been reported. 4–6 Among them, chemo-resistive-type sensors based on semiconductor metal oxides are considered promising due to their high response, good reversibility, low cost and low power consumption. 7–10…”