Effect of varying chain length of n-alcohols and n-alkanes detected with electrostatically-formed nanowire sensor

•Detection of n-alcohols (polar) and n-alkanes (non-polar) with electrostatically-formed nanowire (EFN) sensor.•Alkyl chain length of target n-alcohols and n-alkanes demonstrated a direct correlation to the sensor response.•Sensor response achieved without any explicit modifications on the SiO2 molecular gate of the EFN sensor.•Sensor operation at room temperature.