Electrochromic performance of Pt-embedded porous alumina thick films via interface engineering with low-temperature volatile organic compound based gas sensors

Low-temperature volatile gas sensors are essential tools for many different applications, such as industrial safety and environmental monitoring. The low-temperature volatile gas sensor based on porous alumina thick films embedded with platinum (Pt) is demonstrated in this study. The thick layers of porous alumina on the aluminum substrates were produced by an electrochemical anodization process that was done in the dark. The semitransparent Pt coatings were deposited using the simple chemical bath deposition method to an anodized porous alumina sample. The films were characterized using both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). The EDAX studies’ findings demonstrated the formation of a pure Pt phase and validated the purity of the Pt-embedded porous alumina films. A static gas-sensing system was used to measure the maximum sensitivity factor for methanol (5.5 × 10⁵), ethanol (4.5 × 10⁵), and acetone (~950) at the optimal operating temperature of 40 °C and carbon dioxide (~250) at the optimal operating temperature of 80 °C, respectively, using Pt-embedded porous alumina film at 1000 ppm. In addition, our synthesized Pt-embedded porous alumina film demonstrates constant cyclic repeatability. The results of this work indicate that Pt-embedded porous alumina films have a great deal of potential for use in a wide range of gas-sensing applications in various domains.