Patent ID: 8683672

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a device for sensing a specific gas in a gaseous environment, the method comprising the steps of: (a) forming an array of conductive electrodes on a substrate; (b) forming a nanostructure network having a specified electrical parameter by (i) placing on the array a nanomaterial suspension comprising a nanomaterial dispersed in a solvent, wherein the nanomaterial is selected from the group consisting of at least one of single-walled carbon nanotubes, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, silicon nanowires, zinc oxide nanostructures, tin oxide nanowires, indium oxide nanowires, carbon boride nanotubes, carbon nitride nanotubes, and general B x C y N z nanotube structures; and (ii) drying the nanomaterial suspension to leave a nanomaterial structure on the electrodes in the array; (c) annealing the nanostructure network; and (d) electrodepositing nanoparticles on the nanostructure network, wherein the nanoparticles are made of a material that, when applied to the nanostructure network, alters the selected electrical parameter in the presence of the specific gas, wherein the material of the nanoparticles is selected from the group consisting of metal nanoparticles, doped polyaniline nanoparticles, and metal oxide nanoparticles.