Development of hybrid plasmonics and metal oxide nanostructure chips for VOCs optical sensing device

Abstract

In this study, a Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)- based sensor for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detection is developed. The sensors are fabricated as a hybrid nanostructure of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) coated with a tantalum oxide (TaO) and Tungsten oxide (WO3) thin film on a glass slide substrate through magnetron sputtering and thermal solid-state dewetting techniques. The thickness of the TaO and WO3 film varies between 10 and 70 nm. The optical properties of samples are characterized by UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometry, while their morphologies are confirmed via transmission electron microscopy. The results show the shift of the minimum optical transmittance related to the TaO and WO3 thickness. Electrical field simulations are performed to predict the sensitivity of the prepared samples for VOC detection. In addition, the sensors are tested with different VOCs, including formaldehyde, isopropanol, acetone, methanol and Toluene which show good potential for practical applications.