Journal article
Harnessing Phonon Polaritons for Dynamic and Sensitive Hydrogen Detection in the Mid-Infrared
ACS nano, Vol.19(37), pp.33080-33090
09/23/2025
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5c02519
PMID: 40887828
Abstract
Phonon polaritons─quasiparticles formed by coupling infrared (IR) photons with optical phonons in polar materials─enable highly confined light-matter interactions with lower losses than those of plasmonic systems. Although they have been successfully exploited for enhanced mid-IR chemical sensing in solid- and liquid-phase environments, their application in gas-phase detection remains largely underexplored. Here, we introduce a low-loss phonon polariton platform based on planar Pd/SiC heterostructures and nanostructured Pd/SiC metasurfaces for enhanced mid-IR gas detection. We investigated the mid-IR optical properties of planar Pd/SiC heterostructures under dynamic gaseous atmospheres, particularly at low H2 concentrations. We found that the 25 nm Pd layer can serve as a chemical transducer, facilitating dissociative adsorption and intercalation of H2 into a PdHx phase that systematically modulates the mid-IR dielectric function. Even on the unpatterned phonon polaritonic substrate, we demonstrate phonon-enhanced H2 detection. Furthermore, by leveraging nanostructured Pd/SiC metasurfaces that exhibit localized phonon polariton modes with near-unity absorption, our platform achieves narrowband, highly sensitive, and reversible H2 detection as a proof-of-concept, outperforming other nanophotonic materials in the mid-IR. This hybrid gas-phase chemical detection platform, driven by phonon polaritons, advances passive optical H2 sensing beyond the visible spectrum and into the mid-IR, enabling integration with advanced IR spectroscopy for dynamic chemical process monitoring─with broader implications for gas-phase sensing, environmental monitoring, and in situ reaction studies.Phonon polaritons─quasiparticles formed by coupling infrared (IR) photons with optical phonons in polar materials─enable highly confined light-matter interactions with lower losses than those of plasmonic systems. Although they have been successfully exploited for enhanced mid-IR chemical sensing in solid- and liquid-phase environments, their application in gas-phase detection remains largely underexplored. Here, we introduce a low-loss phonon polariton platform based on planar Pd/SiC heterostructures and nanostructured Pd/SiC metasurfaces for enhanced mid-IR gas detection. We investigated the mid-IR optical properties of planar Pd/SiC heterostructures under dynamic gaseous atmospheres, particularly at low H2 concentrations. We found that the 25 nm Pd layer can serve as a chemical transducer, facilitating dissociative adsorption and intercalation of H2 into a PdHx phase that systematically modulates the mid-IR dielectric function. Even on the unpatterned phonon polaritonic substrate, we demonstrate phonon-enhanced H2 detection. Furthermore, by leveraging nanostructured Pd/SiC metasurfaces that exhibit localized phonon polariton modes with near-unity absorption, our platform achieves narrowband, highly sensitive, and reversible H2 detection as a proof-of-concept, outperforming other nanophotonic materials in the mid-IR. This hybrid gas-phase chemical detection platform, driven by phonon polaritons, advances passive optical H2 sensing beyond the visible spectrum and into the mid-IR, enabling integration with advanced IR spectroscopy for dynamic chemical process monitoring─with broader implications for gas-phase sensing, environmental monitoring, and in situ reaction studies.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Harnessing Phonon Polaritons for Dynamic and Sensitive Hydrogen Detection in the Mid-Infrared
- Creators
- Guanyu Lu - Northwestern UniversityS. Maryam Vaghefi Esfidani - University of IowaJongsu Lee - Northwestern UniversitySachin P Kulkarni - Northwestern UniversityYicheng Wang - Northwestern UniversityMatthew Hershey - Northwestern UniversityJamie D North - Northwestern UniversityKoray Aydin - Northwestern UniversityThomas G Folland - University of IowaDayne F Swearer - Northwestern University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- ACS nano, Vol.19(37), pp.33080-33090
- DOI
- 10.1021/acsnano.5c02519
- PMID
- 40887828
- NLM abbreviation
- ACS Nano
- ISSN
- 1936-086X
- eISSN
- 1936-086X
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society
- Grant note
- National Science FoundationSir Fraser Stoddart Postdoctoral FellowshipNorthwestern University International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN)Northwestern University McCormick School of Engineering Catalyst grantDavid and Lucile Packard Foundation: W911NF-24-1-0081 Army Research OfficeRyan FellowshipIIN at Northwestern University: FA9550-22-1-0300 Air Force Office of Scientific ResearchNUFAB facilities of Northwestern University: NSF ECCS-2025633, NSF DMR-2308691 SHyNE ResourceOffice of the ProvostOffice for ResearchNorthwestern University Information TechnologyUniversity of Iowa P3 funding through the 'Interdisciplinary Scholars' program
G.L. gratefully acknowledges support from the Sir Fraser Stoddart Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Northwestern University International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN). D.F.S. and K.A. acknowledge financial support from The Northwestern University McCormick School of Engineering Catalyst grant. D.F.S. acknowledges the support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and Army Research Office Grant Number W911NF-24-1-0081. M.H. gratefully acknowledges support from the Ryan Fellowship and the IIN at Northwestern University. K.A. acknowledges support from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under award number FA9550-22-1-0300. This work made use of the EPIC, Keck-II, SPID, and NUFAB facilities of Northwestern University's NUANCE Center, which has received support from the SHyNE Resource (NSF ECCS-2025633), the IIN, and Northwestern's MRSEC program (NSF DMR-2308691). This research was supported in part through the computational resources and staff contributions provided for the Quest high-performance computing facility at Northwestern University, which is jointly supported by the Office of the Provost, the Office for Research, and Northwestern University Information Technology. T.G.F. and S.M.V.E. acknowledge support from the University of Iowa P3 funding through the 'Interdisciplinary Scholars' program. A portion of this research was conducted at the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 08/31/2025
- Date published
- 09/23/2025
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy
- Record Identifier
- 9984958606602771
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