Nanoplasmonic Au:CuO thin films functionalized with APTES to enhance the sensitivity of gas sensors

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a highly flammable and toxic gas to humans and animals, that's why its detection and monitoring are crucial. A promising technique to develop a robust and cheap gas sensor, operating at room temperature, is Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) sensing. However, LSPR sensing of inorganic gas molecules, such as CO, is challenging due to their extremely small differences in refractive indices. In this work, a nanoplasmonic thin film, composed of Au NPs semi-embedded in a CuO matrix (Au:CuO) was functionalized with a silane self-assembled monolayer (APTES molecule) that enhanced the sensitivity of the film to a mixture of CO (50 ppm) in Argon. Three different concentrations of APTES (0.1%, 1.0%, and 5.0%) were silanized on Au:CuO thin film surface, and all the functionalized Au:CuO thin films showed better sensing results than bare Au:CuO thin film. The functionalized Au:CuO thin film with 0.1% of APTES revealed the best sensing characteristics. Its sensitivity was almost 3 times higher than that of the unmodified Au:CuO thin film. Au:CuO thin films functionalized with APTES are potentially relevant to developing sensitive and selective LSPR sensors for the detection of inorganic gases such as CO, in harsh environments.