A new method of synthesising nanoparticle-functionalised nanostructured materials via Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition (AACVD) has been developed. Co-deposition of Au nanoparticles with WO(3) nanoneedles has been used to deposit a sensing layer directly onto gas sensor substrates providing devices with a six-fold increase in response to low concentrations of a test analyte (ethanol).

We report on the properties of a new air-stable nanowire material with the chemical formula Mo6S3I6. The distinguishing features of the material are rapid one-step synthesis, easy isolation and controllable dispersion into small-diameter wire bundles. Elemental analysis, x-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis, Raman scattering and electron microscopy were used to characterize the material.

Tungsten oxide nanostructures functionalized with gold or platinum NPs are synthesized and integrated, using a single‐step method via aerosol‐assisted chemical vapour deposition, onto micro‐electromechanical system (MEMS)‐based gas‐sensor platforms. This co‐deposition method is demonstrated to be an effective route to incorporate metal nanoparticles (NP) or combinations of metal NPs into nanostructured materials, resulting in an attractive way of tuning functionality in metal oxides (MOX). The results show variations in electronic and sensing properties of tungsten oxide according to the metal NPs introduced, which are used to discriminate effectively analytes (C2H5OH, H2, and CO) that are present in proton‐exchange fuel cells. Improved sensing characteristics, in particular to H2, are observed at 250 °C with Pt‐functionalized tungsten oxide films, whereas non‐functionalized tungsten oxide films show responses to low concentrations of CO at low temperatures. Differences in the sensing characteristics of these films are attributed to the different reactivities of metal NPs (Au and Pt), and to the degree of electronic interaction at the MOX/metal NP interface. The method presented in this work has advantages over other methods of integrating nanomaterials and devices, of having fewer processing steps, relatively low processing temperature, and no requirement for substrate pre‐treatment.

International audienceNear-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (NEXAFS)1 is an essential analytical tool in material science. Combining NEXAFS with scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) adds spatial resolution and the possibility to study individual nanostructures2, 3. Here, we describe a full-field transmission X-ray microscope (TXM) that generates high-resolution, large-area NEXAFS data with a collection rate two orders of magnitude faster than is possible with STXM. The TXM optical design combines a spectral resolution of E/ΔE = 1 × 104 with a spatial resolution of 25 nm in a field of view of 15-20 µm and a data acquisition time of ~1 s. As an example, we present image stacks and polarization-dependent NEXAFS spectra from individual anisotropic sodium and protonated titanate nanoribbons. Our NEXAFS-TXM technique has the advantage that one image stack visualizes a large number of nanostructures and therefore already contains statistical information. This new high-resolution NEXAFS-TXM technique opens the way to advanced nanoscale science studies

A gas-sensitive hybrid material consisting of Cu2O nanoparticle-decorated WO3 nanoneedles is successfully grown for the first time in a single step via aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Morphological, structural, and composition analyses show that our method is effective for growing single-crystalline, n-type WO3 nanoneedles decorated with p-type Cu2O nanoparticles at moderate temperatures (i.e., 380 °C), with cost effectiveness and short fabrication times, directly onto microhot plate transducer arrays with the view of obtaining gas sensors. The gas-sensing studies performed show that this hybrid nanomaterial has excellent sensitivity and selectivity to hydrogen sulfide (7-fold increase in response compared with that of pristine WO3 nanoneedles) and a low detection limit (below 300 ppb of H2S), together with unprecedented fast response times (2 s) and high immunity to changes in the background humidity. These superior properties arise because of the multiple p-n heterojunctions created at the nanoscale in our hybrid nanomaterial.