High Performance Chemical Sensors Constructed by Noble Metal Nanoparticles Decorated ZnO Nanowires

Abstract

Noble metal nanoparticles were introduced on the surface of ZnO nanowires using a chemically-driven decoration method. Through this simple strategy, a series of noble metal nanoparticles decorated ZnO nanowires with uniform particle dispersion and narrow particle size distribution were obtained. Followed by modifying ZnO nanowires with noble metal nanoparticles, the gas sensing performances of noble metal nanoparticles decorated ZnO nanowires were improved obviously. Having been turned into chemical sensors, the nano-architectures constructed from ZnO nanowires and Pd nanoparticles showed good H(2)S gas sensing performance. The device built with Pt nanoparticles decorated ZnO nanowires exhibited a highly enhanced response to C(2)H(5)OH and HCHO. Pt nanoparticles decorated ZnO nanowires sensors can detect C(2)H(5)OH of 250 ppb and HCHO gas of 1 ppm. Au nanoparticles decorated ZnO nanowires sensors showed enhanced response to CO, while pure ZnO nanowires have no response to CO during the concentration of 25-300 ppm.