Journal des sciences et de l'ingénierie des matériaux

Room Temperature Gas Sensing with Ultrathin Au Nanowires

Abstract

Lal N

One-dimensional nanostructures are of particular interest in nanoelectronics because of the ease with which they can be utilized in fabricating nanodevices where their long axis facilitates contact to the structure, while the short axis preserves the quantized nature of electronic levels. It is therefore desirable to synthesize precisely controlled semiconductor and metal nanowires to study their properties. With much advancement achieved in producing high quality and appreciably controlled semiconductor nanowires, approaches to precisely control the dimensions of metal nanowires still needs to be explored. Here, we have investigated room-temperature sensing properties of these gold nanowires for hydrogen, ethanol and NH3. The sensitivity and selectivity of the wires for sensing different gases are explored. The sensing devices were fabricated by drop-casting the nanowire dispersion over pre-patterned electrodes ultimately paving the path for cost effective applications of these nanowires. Simple chemical routes and solution processing techniques has been utilized for their subsequent device applications. The driving force behind the solution processed devices is their low cost, large device area, physical flexibility and compatibility with the existing technologies.