Effective design and fabrication of low-power-consumption self-heated SnO2 nanowire sensors for reducing gases

Developing metal oxide gas sensors for internet-of-things (IoT) and portable applications require low-power consumption because of the limited battery in devices. This requirement is challenging because metal oxide sensors generally need high working temperatures, especially for reducing gases. Herein, we present an effective design and fabrication method of a SnO2 nanowire (NW) sensor for reducing gases by using the Joule heating effect at NW nanojunctions without needing an external or integrated heater. The sensor's low-power consumption at around 4 mW was controlled by the size and nanojunction density of the device. The sensor has a simple design and is easy to fabricate. A proof-of-concept of a portable gas sensor module can be realised for monitoring highly toxic reducing gases, such as H2S, NH3 and C2H5OH, by using the developed self-heated NWs.