In situ chemoresistive sensing in the environmental TEM: probing functional devices and their nanoscale morphology

• Published in: Nanoscale Vol. 9; no. 22; pp. 7380 - 7384
• Main Authors: Steinhauer, Stephan, Vernieres, Jerome, Krainer, Johanna, Köck, Anton, Grammatikopoulos, Panagiotis, Sowwan, Mukhles
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 14.06.2017
• Subjects: Carbon monoxide; Detection; Devices; Morphology; Nanomaterials; Nanostructure; Tin dioxide; Transmission electron microscopy
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/c6nr09322a

In situ transmission electron microscopy provides exciting opportunities to address fundamental questions and technological aspects related to functional nanomaterials, including the structure-property relationships of miniaturized electronic devices. Herein, we report the in situ chemoresistive sensing in the environmental transmission electron microscope (TEM) with a single SnO nanowire device, studying the impact of surface functionalization with heterogeneous nanocatalysts. By detecting toxic carbon monoxide (CO) gas at ppm-level concentrations inside the microscope column, the sensing properties of a single SnO nanowire were characterized before and after decoration with hybrid Fe-Pd nanocubes. The structural changes of the supported nanoparticles induced by sensor operation were revealed, enabling direct correlation with CO sensing properties. Our novel approach is applicable for a broad range of functional nanomaterials and paves the way for future studies on the relationship between chemoresistive properties and nanoscale morphology.