Hydrogen energy is widely used as one of the cleanest energy sources. However, due to its explosive nature, monitoring the early stages of hydrogen leakage has become a current research focus. This study presents a novel hydrogen sensor suitable for low concentration hydrogen sensing, which combines a planar polymer Bragg grating (PPBG) with a porous Pt/WO3 hydrogen sensitive material modified by MIL-100 (Fe) as a template. PPBG are based on planar cyclo-olefin copolymer substrates with integrated waveguides and Bragg gratings. Due to the polymer's inherently increased coefficient of thermal expansion, the concept provides superior thermal sensitivity. Porous Pt/WO3 has a larger specific surface area and better response characteristics than the original Pt/WO3. By utilizing the thermal effect of the reaction between tungsten trioxide and hydrogen gas, the wavelength shift of PPBG is caused by temperature transformation. A series of experimental results tested at different hydrogen concentrations indicates the sensitivity of the sensor is 575 pm/%. The combination of materials and devices with superior performance enhances the sensitivity of the sensor to hydrogen at low concentrations compared with fiber Bragg grating (FBG) hydrogen sensors. The hydrogen sensor has the advantages of high sensitivity at low concentrations and compact structure, which will have great potential in industrial applications.
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