The design of excellent xylene gas sensor using Sn-doped NiO hierarchical nanostructure

• Published in: Sensors and actuators. B, Chemical Vol. 253; pp. 1152 - 1162
• Main Authors: Gao, Hongyu, Wei, Dongdong, Lin, Pengfei, Liu, Chang, Sun, Peng, Shimanoe, Kengo, Yamazoe, Noboru, Lu, Geyu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 01-12-2017; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Biosensors; Carrier density; Gas detectors; Gas sensor; Gas sensors; Hierarchical nanostructure; Ion implantation; Nanospheres; Nanostructure; Nanostructured materials; Nickel oxides; Organic chemistry; Pollutants; Sn-doped NiO; Tin; Xylene; Gas sensor; Hierarchical nanostructure; Sn-doped NiO; Xylene
• ISSN: 0925-4005; 1873-3077
• DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2017.06.177

•We have demonstrated that hierarchical Sn-doped NiO flower-like nanospheres can directly be prepared using a simple hydrothermal route.•The gas sensing devices fabricated from 3.0at.% Sn-doped NiO nanospheres exhibited excellent selectivity toward xylene, giving a response of 20.2–100ppm.•Ppb-level detection limit with a response of 1.1–0.1ppm xylene indicated the potential application in the detection of indoor airborne pollutants.
A simple hydrothermal route to the synthesis of Sn-doped NiO hierarchical nanostructure is described in this paper. Gas sensors were fabricated from the as-prepared NiO nanostructures, and their gas sensing properties were investigated for response to various target gases. The results indicated that the sensor based on 3.0at.% Sn-doped NiO nanospheres showed superior selectivity toward xylene, giving a response of 20.2–100ppm, which was 12 times higher than that of the undoped NiO nanospheres. Moreover, this sensor based on the 3.0at.% Sn-doped NiO hierarchical nanostructure had ppb-level detection limit that the response to 0.3ppm xylene was 1.2. The likely reason for the improved sensing properties is the change of carrier concentration and chemisorbed oxygen amount caused by the implantation of Sn ions in NiO nanostructures.