Hydrogen gas sensing and photodetector applications on electrofabricated Pd@CuCo2O4 nanostructures

Herein, CuCo2O4 nanocomposites were synthesized using a facile electrochemical method and a subsequent annealing treatment. Afterward, uniform Pd nanoparticles were further doped on the surface of CuCo2O4 via an electrochemical deposition. Gas-sensing tests showed that this novel Pd@CuCo2O4 hybrid exhibited a relatively high response of 17 % and a short response time of 150 s. The response of the film to hydrogen gas was measured at flow values of 500 and 1000 ppm at 300 °C. Pd@CuCo2O4 shows 17 %, CuCo2O4 shows 16 % response to 1000 ppm, Pd@CuCo2O4 shows 11 %, CuCo2O4 shows 9 % response to 500 ppm H2 gas. Furthermore, Pd@CuCo2O4/n-Si and CuCo2O4/n-Si devices were fabricated as a photodetector. I–V measurements were performed under both visible light and UV light (365 and 395 nm) to test the optical performance of both devices. The Pd@CuCo2O4/n-Si exhibited better optical performance than the undoped device, and this was attributed to the increase in the conductivity of the material by Pd doping. The results indicated that Pd@CuCo2O4 hybrid composites are a promising material for monitoring and accurately detecting H2.