Development of optimal electroplated platinum-black catalyst for quartz hydrogen sensors

A catalytic combustion type hydrogen sensor using quartz resonator with electroplated platinum-black catalysts was developed to provide high sensitivity and high reliability. In the previous work, because of catalysts pasted on the electrodes, Q-factor of the quartz resonator was decreased seriously. This paper is discussed about the fabrication method of platinum-black catalysts, which is able to realized excellent hydrogen sensitivity, and high Q-factor of resonator. As an experimental result, the highest Q-factor and the highest sensitivity were obtained by the platinum-black catalyst with thickness of around 100 nm.