Multifunctional Au-ZnO plasmonic nanostructures for enhanced UV photodetector and room temperature NO sensing devices

In this study we report the enhancement of UV photodetection and wavelength tunable light induced NO gas sensing at room temperature using Au-ZnO nanocomposites synthesized by a simple photochemical process. Plasmonic Au-ZnO nanostructures with a size less than the incident wavelength have been found to exhibit a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) that leads to a strong absorption, scattering and local field enhancement. The photoresponse of Au-ZnO nanocomposite can be effectively enhanced by 80 times at 335 nm over control ZnO. We also demonstrated Au-ZnO nanocomposite's application to wavelength tunable gas sensor operating at room temperature. The sensing response of Au-ZnO nancomposite is enhanced both in UV and visible region, as compared to control ZnO. The sensitivity is observed to be higher in the visible region due to the LSPR effect of Au NPs. The selectivity is found to be higher for NO gas over CO and some other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), with a minimum detection limit of 0.1 ppb for Au-ZnO sensor at 335 nm.