Near room temperature CO sensing by mesoporous LaCoO3 nanowires functionalized with Pd nanodots

Abstract Mesoporous LaCoO 3 nanowires with diameters of 200–800 nm and grain sizes of 30–60 nm were prepared by electrospinning, and functionalized with Pd nanodots. The Pd-functionalized LaCoO 3 mesoporous nanowires demonstrate excellent CO sensing characteristics at low temperatures: the Pd-LaCoO 3 nanowires show reliable dynamic response-and-recovery to different CO concentrations at a temperature as low as 60 °C, and at 250 °C the Pd-LaCoO 3 nanowires achieve a high response of ∼113.6 to 100 ppm CO. The excellent CO sensing properties of the Pd-LaCoO 3 nanowires at low temperatures can be ascribed to the mesoporous nanostructure and the catalytic sensitization by the Pd nanodots.