[10p-N403-1~17] 9.2 Nanoparticles, Nanowires and Nanosheets

△ [10p-N403-6] Study on the gas detection mechanism of ZnO nanorods

〇Takeshi Shinkai¹, Kanako Koga¹, Matthias Boepple², Koki kawanami¹, Nakamura Yusui¹, Yusuke Inomata¹, Nicolae Barsan², Tetsuya Kida¹ (1.Kumamoto University, 2.University of Tuebingen)

Keywords:semiconductor gas sensor, ZnO nanorod, gas detection mechanism

The ability of a semiconductor gas sensor to detect gas-phase chemicals depends on the interaction of gas molecules with the sensing layer surface. Hence, optimizing the material structure is important to maximize the amount of adsorbed oxygen, gas diffusivity, and reactivity with gas. In this study, we focused on ZnO nanorods as n-type semiconductor materials for the detection of volatile organic molecules (VOCs). ZnO nanorod arrays were vertically grown on a substrate under hydrothermal conditions using ZnO nanocrystals, which were synthesized by a hot soap method, as seed crystals. The synthesized ZnO nanorods showed an extremely high response to acetone and ethanol even under humid conditions. The reason for the high response is due to the improvement of gas diffusion in the sensing layer and the effective formation of electron depletion layers over the ZnO nanorod surface.