CuO Single-Nanowire Printed Devices for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Detection

This work reports the copper oxide (CuO) single nanowire (SNW) based devices for the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Fabrication involves the synthesis of CuO nanowires by thermal oxidation of copper. The SNW back-to-back Schottky diode electrodes are fabricated by microcantilever contact print (μCCP) of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) on Si-SiO₂substrate. Devices with channel lengths 10, 20, and 30μm are employed to detect VOCs such as ethanol, acetone, and 2-propanol, etc., with concentrations ranging from 25-100 ppm. Sensing is carried out at room temperature, 150∘C, and in white light (1 mWcm⁻²). The device exhibits a maximum response of 1.1% and 4.86% under various operating conditions with a limit of detection (LOD) of 15.4 ppm. The device has limited performance, but is stable for four months.