Low-Temperature As-Doped In2O3 Nanowires for Room Temperature NO2 Gas Sensing

Recently, In2O3 nanowires (NWs) have been extensively explored for high performance electronics and optoelectronics; meanwhile, it is still challenging to synthesize single-crystalline In2O3 NWs at low temperature using complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology compatible catalysts. In this study, single-crystalline As-doped In2O3 NWs are synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), using InAs as the In source and Cu2O nanocubes with uniform morphology as the CMOS compatible catalyst seeds. The growth temperature is optimized to be -,600 degrees C, far lower than the melting point (827 degrees C) of the Cu3As seeds inferring the vapor-solid-solid (VSS) growth mechanism. The obtained NWs have a narrow diameter distribution of 72 +/- 18 nm along the entire NW length and a preferential growth direction of (100) attributable to the epitaxy relationship with the Cu3As (110) plane. NO2 gas sensing measurements show the diameter dependent response, attributable to the increased surface to volume ratio of small diameter NWs. All of these have shown that the outstanding potency of such NWs is based on Cu2O nanocubes for diverse technological applications.

Automated summary

In this study, single-crystalline As-doped In2O3 nanowires were successfully synthesized by chemical vapor deposition at a low growth temperature. The obtained nanowires showed a narrow diameter distribution and a preferential growth direction. Gas sensing experiments demonstrated diameter dependent response, indicating the potential applications of these nanowires in various technologies.