Gas-Sensing Properties of Thermally-Oxidized Metal Oxide Nanowires

In this study metal oxide nanowires were grown by thermal oxidation of metallic thin layer deposited by sputtering on alumina and silicon substrates. Both n-type (ZnO) and p-type (CuO) nanowires were grown. Mat-based conductometric chemical sensing devices were successfully prepared, and their sensing response was evaluated towards different chemical species, in order to highlight the electrical properties of the materials. Calibration curves for the detection of some target gases were estimated.