Synthesis of horizontally aligned ZnO nanowires localized at terrace edges and application for high sensitivity gas sensor

Abstract

We developed step edge decoration method for the fabrication of semiconductor ZnO nanodots and nanowires using pulsed laser deposition. We synthesized high quality ZnO nanowires with the small diameter of about 20nm and the uniform interval of about 80nm between each nanowire, which has a simple structure for the formation of contact electrodes. The ZnO nanowire-based sensor was prepared only with the simple process of a gold electrode formation. The ZnO nanowire-based sensor exhibited the high surface-to-volume ratio of 58.6μm−1 and the significantly high sensitivity of about 10 even for the low ethanol concentration of 0.2ppm.

Aqueous starch as a stabilizer in zinc oxide nanoparticle synthesis via laser ablation

“…11.118 binding energy (59 meV [6]), which allows intense near-band-edge excitonic emission at room temperature (thermal energy ∼26 meV) and beyond that has rekindled the interest in this material. Because of this property, its potential as an UV-blue emitter for lasers and diodes becomes obvious, but also in solar cells, gas and biosensors, and is a newly emerging field of study with enormous potential [7][8][9][10][11][12]. Extensive and excellent reviews on ZnO's properties were recently published by Özgür [10,13], Djurisic [9], Schmidt-Mende [11], and their respective co-workers.…”

Growth of ZnO nanowires through thermal oxidation of metallic zinc films on CdTe substrates

“…Therefore, it is of primary importance to explore novel nanowire morphologies as well as their surface properties, since they have a dramatic impact in sensing applications [15][16][17]. Amongst all the available techniques used for the fabrication of ZnO nanostructures, the most commonly investigated ones are the metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD), vapour phase epitaxy (VPE), direct carbo-thermal growth, and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) [18,19]. These techniques require expensive systems and severe environmental conditions, as they operate at high temperatures (∼800-1400 • C) and low pressures.…”

Integrated zinc oxide nanowires/carbon microfiber gas sensors

“…Across the many semiconductor oxide materials, zinc oxide (ZnO) is a very interesting one due to its chemical and thermal stability, its large exciton binding energy and bandgap as n-type semiconductor, and, especially, to its high response to toxic and combustible gases. To date, various types of ZnO-based gas sensors, such as thick films [3], thin films [4,5], nanoparticles [6] and nanowires [7,8], have been demonstrated. Compared to bulk ZnO and ZnO thin film gas sensors, quasi-1D ZnO nanowires provide a greater response to their increased surface-to-volume ratio [6].…”