Fabrication, Characterization and Performance of Low Power Gas Sensors Based on (Ga(x)In(1-x))(2)O(3) Nanowires

Active research in nanostructured materials aims to explore new paths for improving electronic device characteristics. In the field of gas sensors, those based on metal oxide single nanowires exhibit excellent sensitivity and can operate at extremely low power consumption, making them a highly promising candidate for a novel generation of portable devices. The mix of two different metal oxides on the same nanowire can further broaden the response of this kind of gas sensor, thus widening the range of detectable gases, without compromising the properties related to the active region miniaturization. In this paper, a first study on the synthesis, characterization and gas sensing performance of (Ga(x)In(1-x))(2)O(3) nanowires (NWs) is reported. Carbothermal metal-assisted chemical vapor deposition was carried out with different mixtures of Ga(2)O(3), In(2)O(3) and graphite powders. Structural characterization of the NWs revealed that they have a crystalline structure close to that of In(2)O(3) nanowires, with a small amount of Ga incorporation, which highly depends on the mass ratio between the two precursors. Dedicated gas nanosensors based on single NWs were fabricated and tested for both ethanol and nitrogen dioxide, demonstrating an improved performance compared to similar devices based on pure In(2)O(3) or Ga(2)O(3) NWs.