Promotion on Acetone Sensing of Single SnO₂ Nanobelt by Eu Doping

SnO₂ nanobelts (NBs) have unique structural and functional properties which attract great attention in gas detecting. In this work, Eu doping is adopted to improve the gas sensitivity of pure SnO₂, especially to enhance the response to one single gas. The Eu-doped SnO₂ NBs, pure-SnO₂ NBs, and their single NB devices are fabricated by simple techniques. The sensing properties of the two sensors have been experimentally investigated. It is found that the two sensors possess long-term stability with rapid response performance, and Eu doping improves the electronic performance and the gas-sensing response, particularly to acetone. In addition, the effects aroused by Eu have been theoretically calculated, which indicates that Eu doping enhances the sensing performance of SnO₂. Consequently, Eu-doped SnO₂ NBs show great potential applications in the detection of acetone.