Speaker
Apply to be<br> consider for a student <br> award (Yes / No)?
Yes
Level for award<br> (Hons, MSc, <br> PhD)?
PhD
Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)?
Yes
Main supervisor (name and email)<br>and his / her institution
Dr Bonex Mwakikunga
CSIR
Abstract content <br> (Max 300 words)
One dimensional (1D) nanosized materials (e.g. nanotubes, nanowires and nanorods) are being used extensively in high performance sensor devices owing to their high surface-to-volume ratio, highly crystalline nature and their semiconducting properties. Nickel sulphide (NiS) is an interesting material that has a semiconductor-metal transition (MIT) at approximately 260 K which is close to room temperature. A slight modification of this temperature by metal doping may push the transition temperature towards room temperature, which would make NiS a good candidate for room temperature gas sensing applications.
The high crystalline NiS nanostructures were synthesized via a microwave irradiated hydrothermal technique. Analysis of these structures was obtained via the use of electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction spectroscopy and optical analysis techniques. The MIT of the as-synthesized NiS material was confirmed by electronic measurements and the effect of additional impurities on the NiS structure is also reported. The effect of temperature and gas concentration of the sensitivity of these nanostructures will also be discussed briefly.