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Published on: September 14, 2017
Enhanced ethylene glycol sensing using magnesium - modified ZnFe2O4 microspheres: A study on structure-performance
1Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia; Basic and Applied Scientific Research Center, College of Science -Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia.
Magnesium-modified zinc ferrite nanostructures show high responsiveness for detecting toxic ethylene glycol (EG) vapors. These novel sensors offer tunable performance and excellent selectivity for practical EG monitoring applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like ethylene glycol (EG) are widely used but pose toxicity risks.
- Accurate detection of EG is crucial for safety and environmental monitoring.
- Developing highly sensitive and selective gas sensors is an ongoing challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize magnesium-modified zinc ferrite (ZFM) nanostructures for enhanced gas sensing.
- To investigate the effect of magnesium content on ZFM nanostructures' performance.
- To develop a highly responsive chemiresistive sensor for ethylene glycol detection.
Main Methods:
- Hydrothermal synthesis of magnesium-modified zinc ferrite (ZFM) nanostructures.
- Optimization of ZFM properties by varying magnesium content (5 wt% and 10 wt%).
- Fabrication and testing of chemiresistive gas sensors using ZFM sensing layers.
Main Results:
- ZFM5 exhibited a maximum response of 60.56 to 500 ppm EG at 255°C with a 4.5 s response time.
- ZFM10 demonstrated good performance at a lower operating temperature of 185°C.
- Magnesium modification induced lattice distortion and altered surface states, enhancing oxygen adsorption and redox activity.
Conclusions:
- Magnesium-modified ZnFe2O4 nanostructures show significant potential for practical ethylene glycol detection.
- The sensor performance is tunable by adjusting magnesium content, enabling low-temperature operation.
- The developed sensors exhibit excellent selectivity towards EG over other common VOCs.
