Metal nanosheet gas sensors

Overview

It is known that resistance in nanostructured metals (such as metal nanosheets) changes when molecules chemisorb. By utilizing that phenomena, our research group has been developing “Metal nanosheet gas sensors”.
Metal nanosheets have many advantages for sensor application over other materials such as metal semiconductor oxides and polymers.

1. Sensor size is small (< 0.01 cm²), so easy to integrate.
2. Reduction of power consumption is possible (< 0.1 mW) by utilizing self-heating effect (see this paper as an example).
3. Highly sensitive because of the catalysis.
4. Highly stable if choose noble metals as materials.

We have already realized the multimolecule detection of hydrogen (H₂) and ammonia (NH₃) by integration of Pt and PtRh nanosheet sensors with a power consumption of less than 1 mW (See ref).

The goal of this research is that we realize metal nanosheets sensor systems which can accurately measure five or more types of low molecules in air or in breath.