Highly Sensitive Sub-ppm CH₃COOH Detection by Improved Assembly of Sn₃O₄-RGO Nanocomposite

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Accurate detection of sub-ppm acetic acid (CH3COOH) is crucial for environmental gas monitoring.
• Developing efficient and low-power gas sensors is an ongoing challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a highly sensitive CH3COOH gas sensor using Sn3O4 and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposites.
• To investigate the effect of synthesis methods on the assembly and performance of Sn3O4-RGO nanocomposites.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of Sn3O4-RGO nanocomposites using three different methods, with hydrothermal reaction yielding the optimal RS nanocomposite.
• Characterization using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
• Gas sensing performance evaluation for acetic acid detection.

Main Results:

• The RS nanocomposite, prepared via hydrothermal synthesis, showed superior performance.
• High sensitivity of 64%/ppm for sub-ppm acetic acid detection was achieved.
• The sensor demonstrated excellent response (74% at 2 ppm, 4% at 0.3 ppm), good repeatability, room temperature operation, and low power consumption (~4 µW).

Conclusions:

• The optimized Sn3O4-RGO nanocomposite offers a promising platform for developing commercial acetic acid gas sensors.
• The superior performance is attributed to the uniform embedding and wrapping of Sn3O4 nanoparticles on RGO sheets, enhancing electron transfer at the heterojunction.
• This work represents a significant step towards practical environmental gas monitoring solutions.