Selective sensing of hydrogen sulphide using silver nanoparticle decorated carbon nanotubes

Abstract This paper reports a selective method of sensing hydrogen sulphide in gaseous state using silver nanoparticle decorated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) at room temperature. The transduction platform is a simple resistor which was constructed by drop-casting of a random network of silver nanoparticle decorated carbon nanotubes onto a channel joining two electrodes. This study shows the differential sensing of hydrogen sulphide with respect to interfering analytes such as carbon monoxide and nitric oxide, displaying the different mechanisms involved in the sensing of the gases. These results indicate the possibility of fabricating simple devices with low power consumption based on flexible plastic substrate for selective sensing of gaseous molecules at room temperature by appropriately functionalizing the carbon nanotubes (CNTs).

[1]  T. Ichihashi,et al.  Single-shell carbon nanotubes of 1-nm diameter , 1993, Nature.

[2]  M. Giannetto,et al.  New selective gas sensor based on piezoelectric quartz crystal modified by electropolymerization of a molecular receptor functionalised with 2,2′-bithiophene , 2006 .

[3]  T. Lutz,et al.  Macroscopic scale separation of metallic and semiconducting nanotubes by dielectrophoresis , 2005 .

[4]  J. Bargon,et al.  Diketopiperazine receptors: highly selective layers for gravimetric sensors , 2005 .

[5]  S. Seal,et al.  Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Sulfide Nanoparticles Containing Sol-Gel Derived HPC-Silica Film for Ion-Selective Electrode Application , 2002 .

[6]  Bingqing Wei,et al.  Miniaturized Gas Ionization Sensors Using Carbon Nanotubes. , 2003 .

[7]  Jose Maria Kenny,et al.  Sensors for sub-ppm NO2 gas detection based on carbon nanotube thin films , 2003 .

[8]  J. Kenny,et al.  Interaction of methane with carbon nanotube thin films: role of defects and oxygen adsorption , 2004 .

[9]  Douglas R. Kauffman,et al.  Chemically induced potential barriers at the carbon nanotube-metal nanoparticle interface. , 2007, Nano letters.

[10]  A. Rousset,et al.  Specific surface area of carbon nanotubes and bundles of carbon nanotubes , 2001 .

[11]  R. A. McGill,et al.  Nerve agent detection using networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes , 2003 .

[12]  Qian Wang,et al.  Toward Large Arrays of Multiplex Functionalized Carbon Nanotube Sensors for Highly Sensitive and Selective Molecular Detection. , 2003, Nano letters.

[13]  M. Fuhrer,et al.  Extraordinary Mobility in Semiconducting Carbon Nanotubes , 2004 .

[14]  Bradley Bockrath,et al.  Hydrogen-bonded and physisorbed CO in single-walled carbon nanotube bundles. , 2005, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[15]  Lain-Jong Li,et al.  Differentiation of Gas Molecules Using Flexible and All-Carbon Nanotube Devices , 2008 .

[16]  J. Xin,et al.  A wet-chemical route for the decoration of CNTs with silver nanoparticles , 2006 .

[17]  Work function of carbon nanotubes , 2000 .