Detecting Airborne Mercury by Use of Gold Nanowires

Mercury has been detected at concentrations as low as 2 ppb.

Like the palladium chloride (PdCl₂) films described in the immediately preceding article, gold nanowire sensors have been found to be useful for detecting airborne elemental mercury at concentrations on the order of parts per billion (ppb). Also like the PdCl₂ films, gold nanowire sensors can be regenerated under conditions much milder than those necessary for regeneration of gold films that have been used as airborne-Hg sensors. The interest in nanowire sensors in general is prompted by the expectation that nanowires of a given material covering a given surface may exhibit greater sensitivity than does a film of the same material because nanowires have a greater surface area.