High-sensitivity indoor-air-quality sensor through localized growth of ZnO nanostructures

Resumen:
The aim of this work is to develop an easy-to-manufacture and highly-sensitive conductometric microsensor for indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring. The sensing material is nanostructured ZnO on Pt electrodes. A Pt heater surrounds the ZnO, so the whole sensor is fabricated on one side of a 2,5x2,5 mm2 alumina substrate. ZnO nanostructures are grown in-situ over the electrodes, using the Vapour-Solid (VS) approach. The samples have been tested under different concentrations of benzene, formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide, showing significant response to low concentrations of the three gases.