Analyte kinetics in a nanocluster-based chemiresistor: A case study

Nanoparticulate metal–insulator–metal ensemble chemiresistors in which the Au nanoclusters are functionalized with mercaptohexanoic acid are investigated as sensors of amines, and especially of triethylamine to which they are found to be extraordinarily sensitive with a minimum detectable level of less than 500 ppt. The dependences of the response on dose, time, and temperature are studied in detail. Modeling indicates that the entire data set is well explained by the interaction of partitioning and diffusion processes, both of which are temperature dependent.