P2.4.12 Ethanol Sensing Properties of Pure and Au Modified ZnO nanowires

Event

14th International Meeting on Chemical Sensors - IMCS 2012
2012-05-20 - 2012-05-23
Nürnberg/Nuremberg, Germany

Chapter

P2.4 Nanostructured Sensors

Author(s)

N. Ramgir, M. Kau, N. Datta, P. Sharma, S. Kailasaganapathi, S. Bhattacharya, A. Debnath, D. Aswal, S. Gupta - Thin Film Devices Section, Technical Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (India)

Pages

1535 - 1537

DOI

10.5162/IMCS2012/P2.4.12

ISBN

978-3-9813484-2-2

Price

free

Abstract

Hydrothermal growth of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires has been carried out on Si/SiO2 substrates containing ZnOnanoparticles as seed. The nanowire films have been modified by depositing ultrathin layers of gold (Au) using RF sputtering technique. The sensor films were observed to detect ethanol with maximum sensitivity at an operating temperature of 325°C. Incorporation of Au not only enhances the sensitivity but also improves the reaction kinetics towards ethanol. The response and recovery times for Au modified sensor films towards 50 ppm of ethanol at 325°C were 5 and 20 s, respectively. This faster reaction kinetics is attributed to the role of Au in improving the sensing properties as per the electronic sensitization mechanism.