Detection of volatile organic compounds using flexible gas sensing devices based on tungsten oxide nanostructures functionalized with Au and Pt nanoparticles.

Flexible gas sensor devices are fabricated and optimized by integrating directly, via a single-step vapor-phase deposition method, highly crystalline tungsten oxide nanostructures functionalized with either gold or platinum nanoparticles. Gas tests of these devices show significant improvements with respect to flexible gas sensors based on non-functionalized structures, including greater responses to various volatile organic compounds (ethanol, acetone, methanol and toluene) and better selectivity towards ethanol and methanol, as demonstrate results for the sensors based on platinum-functionalized structures. The method presented here, which includes the fabrication of the whole flexible gas sensing device and the integration of functional nanostructures without the use of transfer methods, provides a simpler, faster and inexpensive method for the fabrication of highly functional flexible microsystems for gas sensing.