On-chip hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods at low temperature for highly selective NO2 gas sensor

ZnO nanorods were selectively grown on-chip with a two-step low-temperature hydrothermal method and their gas sensing properties were investigated. Small zinc islands were deposited by sputtering on a glass substrate and used as nucleation sites for the ZnO nanorod growth. An equimolar aqueous solution of 0.005 M Zn(NO3)2·6H2O and (CH2)6N4 at 85 °C was used in two steps. The first step was used for nucleation and growth of short ZnO nanorods for 4 h, whereas the second step was used for elongation of the nanorods for 36 h. Long porous nanorods from neighboring islands connected to each other and formed nanorod junctions. A gas sensor with such nanorods was evaluated towards NO2, ethanol, hydrogen, and ammonia to characterize its sensing properties. It showed that the gas sensor has the highest sensitivity to NO2, and a very high selectivity to this gas when measured at 450 °C.