Morphology controllable synthesis of α-Fe2O3 1D nanostructures:: Growth mechanism and nanodevice based on single nanowire

Single crystalline alpha-Fe2O3 nanoflakes and nanowires are controllably synthesized simply by heating iron foil at different temperatures. The growth mechanisms are proposed based on the electron nuicroscopy results. Electrical transport studies reveal n-type semiconducting behavior of alpha-Fe2O3 nanowire. A new type of alpha-Fe2O3 gas sensor based on single alpha-Fe2O3 nanowire as sensing unit is developed. The gas sensing on electron transport through the nanowire is investigated. Moreover, the CO detection sensitivity can be modulated by the gate voltage. Our results indicate that alpha-Fe2O3 nanowire holds good potential for nanoscale sensing applications.