A micromachined planar pellistor using an electrochemically deposited nanostructured catalyst

Electrochemical deposition from lyotropic liquid crystalline template solution has been used to deposit H-1 nanostructured palladium films onto a specially designed microfabricated silicon hotplate structure to make planar pellistors, The H-1-e palladium films have very high surface areas and, when heated to around 500 degreesC in air, are converted into highly active catalyst layers for the oxidation of methane. This approach to the deposition of catalysts onto microcalorimetric; gas sensor structures gives a unique degree of control over the localisation of the catalyst on the structure, the thickness of the catalyst layer, the size of the pores in the catalyst and the topology of those pores