Catalytic IR thermal imaging-based hydrogen detection

Infrared (IR) thermal imaging offers a reliable technique in the field of gas detection, it can convert the invisible IR radiation into a visible IR image based on the temperature difference between the target and the background or the parts of the target, and its gas selectivity mainly depends on the spectral absorption properties of the target gas in IR spectrum . Unfortunately, owing to weak absorption in the IR region , the precise selective detection of hydrogen can therefore be quite challenging by using traditional IR detection methods. To address the limitations of IR thermal imaging technology in hydrogen detection and enhance its hydrogen selectivity, a novel catalytic IR thermal imaging-based hydrogen monitoring platform is proposed and demonstrated. To achieve specific hydrogen selection, a hydrogen-sensitive highly-exothermic mesoporous material , Pt-WO 3 , is designed and prepared, which can be used as highly-active catalysts to specifically activate exothermic reaction between hydrogen and oxygen at room temperature, and a common IR camera can become a hydrogen-selective gas detection device by adding a Pt-WO 3 -based window plate, the IR radiation changes on Pt-WO 3 -based window plate surface caused by exothermic reaction can be rapidly and accurately recognized by using IR camera. Additionally, real-time image processing can be used to create high-resolution IR images from original low-resolution IR images and can promote to further improve the detection accuracy. Through analyzing the performance, it can be concluded that the hydrogen detection platform assembled with a higher Pt-WO 3 mass or density window plate is more sensitive to hydrogen. When the hydrogen concentration rises to 1.6 % and a 2.0 mg and 3 mm coating diameter Pt-WO 3 -coated window plate is selected as a hydrogen selective element, the maximum surface temperature of the hydrogen selective window plate reaches 100.76℃ (which contains the ambient background temperature component), however, this is accompanied by a longer response and recovery time. While a 0.5 mg and 4 mm coating diameter Pt-WO 3 -coated window plate is selected as a hydrogen selective element, and hydrogen concentration is 0.5 %, the response and recovery time of this catalytic IR hydrogen detection system is 17 s and 24 s at room temperature. Experimental results indicate that this catalytic IR thermal imaging-based hydrogen detection scheme has the potential to offer a novel solution in the field of gas monitoring.