Architecture controlled synthesis of flower-like In2O3 nanobundles with significantly enhanced ultraviolet scattering and ethanol sensing

Abstract

We have successfully synthesized novel needle-like and flower-like In₂O₃ nanobundles (NBs) composed of numerous parallel assembled nanoparticle chains via hydrolysis of InCl₃ with NaBH₄ in aqueous solution and subsequent heat treatment. These previously unknown nanostructures exhibit unusual optical and ethanol sensing properties. T-matrix simulation evidently explains the assembling effect on the significant scattering of UV-visible spectra including a characteristic peak in the UV region as well as the broadened edge toward the visible region for these two NBs. The greatly enhanced ethanol-sensing properties observed for the flower-like In₂O₃ NBs indicate that the dominant factors for sensing are not only the nanoparticle size but also the structural dimension and architecture of the nanoassembly.