Highly Enhanced Sensing Properties for ZnO Nanoparticle-Decorated Round-Edged α-Fe₂O₃ Hexahedrons

ZnO/α-Fe2O3 composites built from plenty of ZnO nanoparticles decorated on the surfaces of uniform round-edged α-Fe2O3 hexahedrons were successfully prepared via a facile solvothermal method. Various techniques were employed to obtain the crystalline and morphological characterization of the as-prepared samples. In addition, a comparative sensing performance investigation between the two kinds of sensing materials clearly demonstrated that the sensing properties of ZnO/α-Fe2O3 composites were substantially enhanced compared with those of the single α-Fe2O3 component, which manifest the superiority of the ZnO decoration as we expected. For instance, the response of ZnO/α-Fe2O3 composites to 100 ppm acetone is ∼30, which is ∼3.15-fold higher than that of primary α-Fe2O3 hexahedrons. The synergetic effect is believed to be the source of the improvement of gas-sensing properties.