Finite size effect on hydrogen gas sensing performance in single Pd nanowires

We present the hydrogen sensing performance of individual Pd nanowires grown by electrodeposition into nanochannels of anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) templates investigated as a function of the nanowire diameter. Four-terminal devices based on individual Pd nanowires were found to successfully detect hydrogen gas (H(2)). Our experimental results show that the H(2) sensing sensitivity increases and the response time decreases with decreasing diameter of Pd nanowires with d = 400, 200, 80 and 20 nm, due to the high surface-to-volume ratio and short diffusion paths, respectively. This is in qualitatively good agreement with simulated results obtained from a theoretical model based on a combination of the rate equation and diffusion equation.