The synthesis of single PdAu bimetallic nanowire: feasibility study for hydrogen sensing

Single PdAu bimetallic nanowires have been synthesized via the sequential processes of electrochemical deposition and dielectrophoresis (DEP). In the first step, Pd/Au grains on predefined Au electrodes were grown by electrochemical deposition and could assist effectively the formation of a single PdAu nanowire with a good directionality by the subsequent DEP process. The synthesized PdAu nanowires have an average of ∼10 at.% of Pd, a good resistance of a few hundred Ω, diameters of 300 nm on average and lengths of up to 15 μm. Based on the single PdAu nanowire, hydrogen detection was demonstrated in the range from 100 to 2500 ppm.