Open Access Conference Proceedings

Self-assembled metal oxide MnO2 nanowires (NWs) were hydrothermally synthesized and electrically characterized. The nanowires were from 3 to 10 μm long and from 20 to 100 nm in diameter. The nanowires were suspended in water and deposited on gold interdigitated electrode (IDE) chip using dielectrophoresis (DEP) to align them perpendicularly across the electrodes. Screening of the MnO2 material properties, such as semiconductor type, vacancies concentration and relative permittivity was performed by means of impedance and Mott-Schottky analyses. The conductivity was measured both in synthetic air and in nitrogen ambient. The tests consisted in measuring resistivity of the NWs in relation to temperature of the bottom-placed heater under the IDE chip. The temperature went from room temperature up to 300 °C. The resistivity changes were observed accounting for oxygen reduction on the NWs surface as the electrons were moving from the NWs to the oxygen. The resistivity was explored at a constant current arrangement test. Overall, we observed changes in the electrical properties of the wires upon oxygen adsorption, such as activation energy. Therefore, in future experiments, we might also explore the effect of other gases on the NW’s electrical properties, e.g., ethanol, H2, NO2.

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