Effects of surface roughness on hydrogen gas sensing properties of single Pd nanowires

We report on the effects of surface roughness resulting from an ion milling technique on the hydrogen gas sensing performance of a single Pd nanowire grown by electrodeposition into nanochannels in anodized aluminum oxide templates. A combination of electron beam lithography and a lift-off process was utilized to fabricate four-terminal devices based on individual Pd nanowires. These results are the first demonstration of the effect of ion milling on the response time in a single Pd nanowire used as a hydrogen sensor. The response time of the single Pd nanowire surface-treated by ion milling was 20 times faster than that of a sample without surface treatment. The faster response time was due to the surface roughness effects of the surface treatment, an increase in the surface-to-volume ratio of the ion-milled nanowire.