Convergence Gas Sensors with One-Dimensional Nanotubes and Pt Nanoparticles Based on Ultraviolet Photonic Energy for Room-Temperature NO2 Gas Sensing.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a promising material for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas sensors because of its nontoxicity, low cost, and small size. We fabricated one-dimensional (1D) and zero-dimensional (0D) convergence gas sensors activated via ultraviolet (UV) photonic energy to sense NO2 gas at room temperature. One-dimensional ZnO nanorod (ZNR)-based and ZnO nanotube (ZNT)-based gas sensors were synthesized using a simple hydrothermal method. All the sensors were tested under UV irradiation (365 nm) so that they could be operated at room temperature rather than a high temperature. In addition, we decorated 0D Pt nanoparticles (NPs) on the gas sensors to further improve their sensing responsivity. The NO2-sensing response of the ZNT/Pt NP convergence gas sensor was 2.93 times higher than that of the ZNR gas sensor. We demonstrated the complex effects of UV radiation on 1D ZnO nanostructures and 0D metal nanostructures in NO2 gas sensing.

Ultraviolet light-emitting diode-assisted highly sensitive room temperature NO2 gas sensors based on low-temperature solution-processed ZnO/TiO2 nanorods decorated with plasmonic Au nanoparticles.

Nanostructured semiconducting metal oxides such as SnO2, ZnO, TiO2, and CuO have been widely used to fabricate high performance gas sensors. To improve the sensitivity and stability of gas sensors, we developed NO2 gas sensors composed of ZnO/TiO2 core-shell nanorods (NRs) decorated with Au nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized via a simple low-temperature aqueous solution process, operated under ultraviolet irradiation to realize room temperature operation. The fabricated gas sensor with a 10 nm-thick TiO2 shell layer shows 9 times higher gas sensitivity and faster response and recovery times than ZnO NR-based gas sensors. This high performance of the fabricated gas sensor can be ascribed to band bending between the ZnO and TiO2 core-shell layers and the localized surface plasmon resonance effect of Au NPs with a sufficient Debye length of the TiO2 shell layer.

TiO2 Nanorods and Pt Nanoparticles under a UV-LED for an NO2 Gas Sensor at Room Temperature.

Because the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) cause detrimental effects on not only the environment but humans, developing a high-performance NO2 gas sensor is a crucial issue for real-time monitoring. To this end, metal oxide semiconductors have been employed for sensor materials. Because in general, semiconductor-type gas sensors require a high working temperature, photoactivation has emerged as an alternative method for realizing the sensor working at room temperature. In this regard, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a promising material for its photocatalytic ability with ultraviolet (UV) photonic energy. However, TiO2-based sensors inevitably encounter a problem of recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, which occurs in a short time. To address this challenge, in this study, TiO2 nanorods (NRs) and Pt nanoparticles (NPs) under a UV-LED were used as an NO2 gas sensor to utilize the Schottky barrier formed at the TiO2-Pt junction, thereby capturing the photoactivated electrons by Pt NPs. The separation between the electron-hole pairs might be further enhanced by plasmonic effects. In addition, it is reported that annealing TiO2 NRs can achieve noteworthy improvements in sensing performance. Elucidation of the performance enhancement is suggested with the investigation of the X-ray diffraction patterns, which implies that the crystallinity was improved by the annealing process.

Ultraviolet Photoactivated Room Temperature NO2 Gas Sensor of ZnO Hemitubes and Nanotubes Covered with TiO2 Nanoparticles.

Prolonged exposure to NO2 can cause lung tissue inflammation, bronchiolitis fibrosa obliterans, and silo filler's disease. In recent years, nanostructured semiconducting metal oxides have been widely used to fabricate gas sensors because of their unique structure and surface-to-volume ratio compared to layered materials. In particular, the different morphologies of ZnO-based nanostructures significantly affect the detection property of NO2 gas sensors. However, because of the large interaction energy of chemisorption (1-10 eV), metal oxide-based gas sensors are typically operated above 100 °C, overcoming the energy limits to attain high sensitivity and fast reaction. High operating temperature negatively affects the reliability and durability of semiconductor-based sensors; at high temperature, the diffusion and sintering effects at the metal oxide grain boundaries are major factors causing undesirable long-term drift problems and preventing stability improvements. Therefore, we demonstrate NO2 gas sensors consisting of ZnO hemitubes (HTs) and nanotubes (NTs) covered with TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). To operate the gas sensor at room temperature (RT), we measured the gas-sensing properties with ultraviolet illumination onto the active region of the gas sensor for photoactivation instead of conventional thermal activation by heating. The performance of these gas sensors was enhanced by the change of barrier potential at the ZnO/TiO2 interfaces, and their depletion layer was expanded by the NPs formation. The gas sensor based on ZnO HTs showed 1.2 times higher detection property than those consisting of ZnO NTs at the 25 ppm NO2 gas.

Quantitative analysis of adsorption and desorption of volatile organic compounds on reusable zeolite filters using gas chromatography.

In this study, we propose a method to quantitatively analyze the concentration of VOCs adsorbed on zeolite filters via gas chromatography (GC). The sampled VOCs from the filters with ethanol as a solution were characterized using GC to determine the concentration of the adsorbed VOCs by comparing the areas of GC peaks of the detected VOCs and ethanol. The proposed method also enabled determination of the desorption (regeneration) conditions of the zeolite filters according to heating temperature and time for various VOCs. Repeated adsorption and desorption of VOCs on zeolite filters and GC analyses allow us to evaluate the durability and reusability of the filter and could help predict the lifetime of zeolite filters in practice.

Fabrication and NO2 gas sensing performance of TeO2-core/CuO-shell heterostructure nanorod sensors.

TeO2-nanostructured sensors are seldom reported compared to other metal oxide semiconductor materials such as ZnO, In2O3, TiO2, Ga2O3, etc. TeO2/CuO core-shell nanorods were fabricated by thermal evaporation of Te powder followed by sputter deposition of CuO. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction showed that each nanorod consisted of a single crystal TeO2 core and a polycrystalline CuO shell with a thickness of approximately 7 nm. The TeO2/CuO core-shell one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures exhibited a bamboo leaf-like morphology. The core-shell nanorods were 100 to 300 nm in diameter and up to 30 µm in length. The multiple networked TeO2/CuO core-shell nanorod sensor showed responses of 142% to 425% to 0.5- to 10-ppm NO2 at 150°C. These responses were stronger than or comparable to those of many other metal oxide nanostructures, suggesting that TeO2 is also a promising sensor material. The responses of the core-shell nanorods were 1.2 to 2.1 times higher than those of pristine TeO2 nanorods over the same NO2 concentration range. The underlying mechanism for the enhanced NO2 sensing properties of the core-shell nanorod sensor can be explained by the potential barrier-controlled carrier transport mechanism. PACS: 61.46. + w; 07.07.Df; 73.22.-f.

Room temperature, ppb-level NO2 gas sensing of multiple-networked ZnSe nanowire sensors under UV illumination.

Reports of the gas sensing properties of ZnSe are few, presumably because of the decomposition and oxidation of ZnSe at high temperatures. In this study, ZnSe nanowires were synthesized by the thermal evaporation of ZnSe powders and the sensing performance of multiple-networked ZnSe nanowire sensors toward NO2 gas was examined. The results showed that ZnSe might be a promising gas sensor material if it is used at room temperature. The response of the ZnSe nanowires to 50 ppb-5 ppm NO2 at room temperature under dark and UV illumination conditions were 101-102% and 113-234%, respectively. The responses of the ZnSe nanowires to 5 ppm NO2 increased from 102 to 234% with increasing UV illumination intensity from 0 to 1.2 mW/cm(2). The response of the ZnSe nanowires was stronger than or comparable to that of typical metal oxide semiconductors reported in the literature, which require higher NO2 concentrations and operate at higher temperatures. The origin of the enhanced response of the ZnSe nanowires towards NO2 under UV illumination is also discussed.