Highly sensitive hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas sensors from viral-templated nanocrystalline gold nanowires

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Abstract
A facile, site-specific viral-templated assembly method was used to fabricate sensitive hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas sensors at room temperature. A gold-binding M13 bacteriophage served to organize gold nanoparticles into linear arrays which were used as seeds for subsequent nanowire formation through electroless deposition. Nanowire widths and densities within the sensors were modified by electroless deposition time and phage concentration, respectively, to tune device resistance. Chemiresistive H2S gas sensors with superior room temperature sensing performance were produced with sensitivity of 654%/ppm(v), theoretical lowest detection limit of 2 ppb(v), and 70% recovery within 9 min for 0.025 ppm(v). The role of the viral template and associated gold-binding peptide was elucidated by removing organics using a short O₂ plasma treatment followed by an ethanol dip. The template and gold-binding peptide were crucial to electrical and sensor performance. Without surface organics, the resistance fell by several orders of magnitude, the sensitivity dropped by more than a factor of 100 to 6%/ppm(v), the lower limit of detection increased, and no recovery was detected with dry air flow. Viral templates provide a novel, alternative fabrication route for highly sensitive, nanostructured H2S gas sensors.

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