A high-performance n-butanol gas sensor based on ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by a low-temperature solvothermal route

Author(s): Xu Liu ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ , Nan Chen ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ , Xinxin Xing ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ , Yuxiu Li ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ , Xuechun Xiao ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Yude Wang ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Igor Djerdj ⁶ ^, ⁷ ^, ⁸

Publication date (Electronic): 2015

Journal: RSC Advances

Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)

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Abstract

Solvothermally synthesized ZnO nanoparticles applied as a sensing layer for an n-butanol gas sensor show a very good gas response performance.

Abstract

ZnO nanoparticles with high crystallinity and several nanometers in size were synthesized by a low-temperature solvothermal route from zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(CH ₃COO) ₂·2H ₂O), potassium hydroxide (KOH) and methanol (CH ₃OH). The structural and the morphological characterizations of the ZnO nanoparticles were performed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and N ₂-sorption isotherms. The obtained nanoparticles are highly crystalline wurtzite-type ZnO with a uniform near-spherical shape and an average particle size estimated to be 8.4 ± 1.3 nm. Such a small particle size and slight agglomeration are attributed to the use of methanol, which acts as both a solvent and an inhibitor of growth and agglomeration. The as-synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were directly used as a gas sensing material toward n-butanol gas. Such a designed sensor device exhibits several advantages such as a high and fast response, short recovery time, and good stability toward n-butanol gas. At the optimal operating temperature (320 °C), its gas response toward 500 ppm n-butanol is 805 and the response and recovery times are 22 and 6 seconds, respectively.