Enhancement of field emission of SnO2 nanowires film by exposure of hydrogen gas

The effect of hydrogen (H2) gas exposure on the field emission properties of tin oxide (SnO2) nanowires films synthesized by the carbon thermal reduction vapor transport method was investigated. The exposure of H2 gas results in the reduction of the turn-on voltage for driving a current of 10 nA from 7.6 V/μm to 5.5 V/μm and the increase of the field current based on 10 V/μm from 0.47 μA to 2.1 μA. The Fowler–Nordheim plot obtained from the current–voltage data supports that the field emission enhancement of SNW film is attributed to the reduction of the work function by the H2 exposure.