A highly sensitive ethanol sensor based on mesoporous ZnO-SnO2 nanofibers

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Development of sensitive and reliable gas sensors is crucial for environmental monitoring and industrial safety.
• Metal oxide nanofibers offer unique properties for gas sensing due to their high surface area and tunable structures.
• Zinc oxide (ZnO) and tin oxide (SnO2) are well-known semiconductor materials for gas sensing applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile and versatile method for the large-scale synthesis of mesoporous ZnO-SnO2 (m-Z-S) nanofibers.
• To investigate the structural and morphological properties of the synthesized m-Z-S nanofibers.
• To evaluate the ethanol sensing performance of the m-Z-S nanofibers.

Main Methods:

• Surfactant-directed assembly combined with electrospinning for nanofiber synthesis.
• Characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis.
• Ethanol sensing measurements were conducted on the prepared mesoporous fiber film.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of mesoporous ZnO-SnO2 nanofibers with diameters ranging from 100 to 150 nm.
• The nanofibers exhibited a mixed crystalline structure of wurtzite (ZnO) and rutile (SnO2) with an observed mesoporous structure.
• The m-Z-S nanofiber film demonstrated excellent ethanol sensing properties, including high sensitivity, rapid response and recovery times, good reproducibility, and linearity over a wide concentration range (3-500 ppm).

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides a scalable route for producing sensitive mesoporous ZnO-SnO2 nanofibers.
• The unique mesoporous structure and composition of m-Z-S nanofibers contribute to their superior ethanol sensing capabilities.
• These findings highlight the potential of m-Z-S nanofibers for advanced gas sensing applications.