Ethanol-Sensing Characteristics of Nanostructured ZnO: Nanorods, Nanowires, and Porous Nanoparticles

• The morphology and crystalline size of metal oxide-sensing materials arebelieved to have a strong influence on the performance of gas sensors. In thispaper, we report a comparative study on the ethanol-sensing characteristics ofZnO nanorods, nanowires, and porous nanoparticles. The porous ZnOnanoparticles were prepared using a simple thermal decomposition of a sheetlikehydrozincite, whereas the nanorods and nanowires were grown byhydrothermal and chemical vapor deposition methods, respectively. Themorphology and crystal structure of the synthesized materials were characterizedby field-emission scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction.Ethanol gas-sensing characteristics were systematically studied at differenttemperatures. Our findings show that for ethanol gas-sensing applications,ZnO porous nanoparticles exhibited the best sensitivity, followed by thenanowires and nanorods. Gas-sensing properties were also examined withrespect to the role of crystal growth orientation, crystal size, and porosity.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Annan materialteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Other Materials Engineering (hsv//eng)

Keyword

ZnO

porous nanoparticles

nanorods

nanowires

gas sensors

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)