The catalytic nanodiode: gas phase catalytic reaction generated electron flow using nanoscale platinum titanium oxide Schottky diodes.

Forty microampere current was generated on a platinum-titanium dioxide Schottky diode during the platinum catalyzed steady-state oxidation of carbon monoxide at 80 degrees C. For reaction events that produced four CO(2) molecules, three injected electrons were collected in a diode comprising a 5 nm thick platinum and a 150 nm titanium dioxide film. The electron injection flux depends on the thickness of the platinum and the titanium dioxide diode properties as well as the conditions of the catalytic reactions.