Photoluminescence based H2 and O2 gas sensing by ZnO nanowires

Gas sensing properties of ZnO nanowires prepared via thermal chemical vapor deposition method were investigated by analyzing change in their photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The as-synthesized nanowires show two different PL peaks positioned at 380 nm and 520 nm. The 380 nm emission is ascribed to near band edge emission, and the green peak (520 nm) appears due to the oxygen vacancy defects. The intensity of the green PL signal enhances upon hydrogen gas exposure, whereas it gets quenched upon oxygen gas loading. The ZnO nanowires' sensing response values were observed as about 54% for H2 gas and 9% for O2 gas at room temperature for 50 sccm H2/O2 gas flow rate. The sensor response was also analyzed as a function of sample temperature ranging from 300 K to 400 K. A conclusion was derived from the observations that the H2/O2 gases affect the adsorbed oxygen species on the surface of ZnO nanowires. The adsorbed species result in the band bending and hence changes the depletion region which causes variation in PL signal. A photoluminescence based gas sensing technique has advantage over a conductometric technique due to its higher sensitivity and faster response time.