A palladium (Pd) nanowire-based hydrogen (H₂) sensor has been fabricated with a novel viral-templated assembly route. A filamentous M13 bacteriophage was used as the viral-template for assembly of Pd nanowires at ambient conditions. Scanning electron microscopy determined Pd nanowire distribution and morphology with the devices. The phage template concentration controlled the number of physical and electrical nanowire connections across the device. A greater phage concentration resulted in a higher connection density and thicker Pd deposition. A lower phage concentration generated devices which formed chain-like nanowires of Pd nanocrystals, whereas a higher phage concentration formed devices with a continuous mesh-like structure. The lower concentration devices showed 51-78% instantaneous response to 2000 ppm H₂ and response time less than 30 s.

Date Published: 27 August 2014
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 9171, Nanobiosystems: Processing, Characterization, and Applications VII, 91710U (27 August 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2061158

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9171:
Nanobiosystems: Processing, Characterization, and Applications VII
Norihisa Kobayashi; Fahima Ouchen; Ileana Rau, Editor(s)