Remarkable improvement of gas-sensing abilities in p-type oxide nanowires by local modification of the hole-accumulation layer.

This paper proposes a method for improving the reducing or oxidizing gas-sensing abilities of p-type oxide nanowires (NWs) by locally modifying the hole-accumulation channel through the attachment of p-type nanoparticles (NPs) with different upper valence band levels. In this study, the sensing behaviors of p-CuO NWs functionalized with either p-NiO or p-Co3O4 NPs were investigated as a model materials system. The attachment of p-NiO NPs greatly improved the reducing gas-sensing performance of p-CuO NWs. In contrast, the p-Co3O4 NPs improved the oxidizing gas-sensing properties of p-CuO NWs. These results are associated with the local suppression/expansion of the hole-accumulation channel of p-CuO NWs along the radial direction due to hole flow between the NWs and NPs. The approach proposed in this study provides a guideline for fabricating sensitive chemical sensors based on p-CuO NWs.