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

作者：Liu Xu; Chen Nan; Xing Xinxin; Li Yuxiu; Xiao Xuechun; Wang Yude^*; Djerdj Igor

来源：RSC Advances, 2015, 5(67): 54372-54378.

DOI：10.1039/c5ra05148g

ZnO nanoparticles with high crystallinity and several nanometers in size were synthesized by a low-temperature solvothermal route from zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(CH3COO)(2)center dot 2H(2)O), potassium hydroxide (KOH) and methanol (CH3OH). 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 assynthesized 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 degrees C), its gas response toward 500 ppm n-butanol is 805 and the response and recovery times are 22 and 6 seconds, respectively.

• 出版日期2015
• 单位云南大学