Highly Sensitive and Selective Gas Detection by 3D Metal Oxide Nanoarchitectures

Abstract

Gas sensors, as modern electronic components, have obtained enormous development since the 1970s [1]. As an interface between electronic systems and our environment, gas sensors collect information from the atmosphere, i.e., they detect whether a particular chemical vapor is present and of what concentration. This is useful for a variety of applications. Recently, gas sensors have played important roles in various applications, such as environmental monitoring, automobile, industrial safety, manufacture quality control, and public security [2, 3]. For example, oxygen sensors in automobiles can ensure complete and efficient gasoline combustion in the engine, specially designed gas sensors can monitor the quality of perfume, and explosive detectors can be used in train stations and airports. In the last decade, major improvements in the capabilities of mobile devices and wireless networks have generated more and more demand of portable or mobile device-integrated sensor systems. One example is the massively distributed gas sensor that can locate the safety threat when they are integrated with geographical positioning systems [4] that are available in many modern mobile phones. These novel applications impose more requirements such as low power consumption, miniaturized size, high sensitivity, and selectivity of gas-sensing systems.