Construction of Flower-like PtOx@ZnO/In2O3 Hollow Microspheres for Ultrasensitive and Rapid Trace Detection of Isopropanol.

The design of a highly effective isopropanol gas sensor with high response and trace detection capability is extremely important for environmental surveillance and human health. Here, novel flower-like PtOx@ZnO/In2O3 hollow microspheres were prepared by a three-step approach. The hollow structure was composed of an In2O3 shell inside and layered ZnO/In2O3 nanosheets outside with PtOx nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface. Meanwhile, the gas sensing performances of the ZnO/In2O3 composite with different Zn/In ratios and PtOx@ZnO/In2O3 composites were evaluated and compared systematically. The measurement results indicated that the ratio of Zn/In affected the sensing performance and the ZnIn2 sensor presented a higher response, which was then modified with PtOx NPs to further enhance its sensing property. The Pt@ZnIn2 sensor exhibited outstanding isopropanol detection performance with ultrahigh response values under 22 and 95% relative humidity (RH). In addition, it also showed a rapid response/recovery speed, good linearity, and low theoretical limit of detection (LOD) regardless of being under a relatively dry or ultrahumid atmosphere. The enhancement of isopropanol sensing properties might be ascribed to the unique structure of PtOx@ZnO/In2O3, heterojunctions between the components, and catalytic effect of Pt NPs.

NH3 Sensor Based on 3D Hierarchical Flower-Shaped n-ZnO/p-NiO Heterostructures Yields Outstanding Sensing Capabilities at ppb Level.

Hierarchical three-dimensional (3D) flower-like n-ZnO/p-NiO heterostructures with various ZnxNiy molar ratios (Zn5Ni1, Zn2Ni1, Zn1Ni1, Zn1Ni2 and Zn1Ni5) were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. Their crystal phase, surface morphology, elemental composition and chemical state were comprehensively investigated by XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM and XPS techniques. Gas sensing measurements were conducted on all the as-developed ZnxNiy-based sensors toward ammonia (NH3) detection under various working temperatures from 160 to 340 °C. In particular, the as-prepared Zn1Ni2 sensor exhibited superior NH3 sensing performance under optimum working temperature (280 °C) including high response (25 toward 100 ppm), fast response/recovery time (16 s/7 s), low detection limit (50 ppb), good selectivity and long-term stability. The enhanced NH3 sensing capabilities of Zn1Ni2 sensor could be attributed to both the specific hierarchical structure which facilitates the adsorption of NH3 molecules and produces much more contact sites, and the improved gas response characteristics of p-n heterojunctions. The obtained results clear demonstrated that the optimum n-ZnO/p-NiO heterostructure is indeed very promising sensing material toward NH3 detection for different applications.

Rapid and Stable Detection of Carbon Monoxide in Changing Humidity Atmospheres Using Clustered In2O3/CuO Nanospheres.

Clustered indium oxide/copper oxide (In2O3/CuO) nanospheres with different CuO amounts were successfully synthesized as sensing materials for the carbon monoxide (CO) detection. Component and morphological characterizations were performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Sensing performance for CO of the clustered In2O3 and In2O3/CuO nanospheres were investigated under different temperatures and humidity conditions. The results show that the sensors based on 2 mol % In2O3/CuO (InCu2) exhibit about threefold improvement in response to CO compared to that of In2O3 with quick response and recovery time, wide linearity, and low detection limit at 200 °C under 25% relative humidity (RH). Moreover, it shows tiny resistance and response declines despite the wide range of humidity variation from 25 to 95% RH. Meanwhile, the mechanism of enhanced gas-sensing performances and antihumidity properties of InCu2 were systematically investigated. We speculated that most of the water-driven species are predominantly adsorbed by CuO due to its high affinity to the hydroxyl group, which suppresses the interaction between moisture and In2O3. InCu2 is a new and promising material to sense CO in a highly sensitive and fast manner with negligible interference from ambient humidity.

Selective gas detection using Mn3O4/WO3 composites as a sensing layer.

Pure WO3 sensors and Mn3O4/WO3 composite sensors with different Mn concentrations (1 atom %, 3 atom % and 5 atom %) were successfully prepared through a facile hydrothermal method. As gas sensing materials, their sensing performance at different temperatures was systematically investigated for gas detection. The devices displayed different sensing responses toward different gases at specific temperatures. The gas sensing performance of Mn3O4/WO3 composites (especially at 3 atom % Mn) were far improved compared to sensors based on pure WO3, where the improvement is related to the heterojunction formed between the two metal oxides. The sensor based on the Mn3O4/WO3 composite with 3 atom % Mn showed a high selective response to hydrogen sulfide (H2S), ammonia (NH3) and carbon monoxide (CO) at working temperatures of 90 °C, 150 °C and 210 °C, respectively. The demonstrated superior selectivity opens the door for potential applications in gas recognition and detection.

Ultraselective Toluene-Gas Sensor: Nanosized Gold Loaded on Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles.

Selectivity is an important parameter of resistive-type gas sensors that use metal oxides. In this study, a highly selective toluene sensor is prepared using highly dispersed gold-nanoparticle-loaded zinc oxide nanoparticles (Au-ZnO NPs). Au-ZnO NPs are synthesized by coprecipitation and calcination at 400 °C with Au loadings of 0.15, 0.5, and 1.5 mol %. The Au NPs on ZnO are about 2-4 nm in size, and exist in a metallic state. Porous gas-sensing layers are fabricated by screen printing. The responses of the sensor to 200 ppm hydrogen, 200 ppm carbon monoxide, 100 ppm ethanol, 100 ppm acetaldehyde, 100 ppm acetone, and 100 ppm toluene are evaluated at 377 °C in a dry atmosphere. The sensor response of 0.15 mol % Au-ZnO NPs to toluene is about 92, whereas its sensor responses to other combustible gases are less than 7. Such selective toluene detection is probably caused by the utilization efficiency of the gas-sensing layer. Gas diffusivity into the sensing layer of Au-ZnO NPs is lowered by the catalytic oxidation of combustible gases during their diffusion through the layer. The present approach is an effective way to improve the selectivity of resistive-type gas sensors.

Hepatoprotective effect against CCl4-induced acute liver damage in mice and High-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometric method for analysis of the constituents of extract of Rubus crataegifolius.

This study is an attempt to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of Rubus Crataegifolius against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in mice. 70% ethanolic, ethyl acetate and n-BuOH extract of R. crataegifolius were administered daily for 14 days in experimental animals before they were treated with CCl4. The hepatoprotective activity of the extracts in this study was compared with the reference drug silymarin. A high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometric (HPLC-EIS-MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of the constituents of the extracts. According to the data of HPLC-EIS-MS/MS, the chemical structures of the largely 14 constituents of R. crataegifolius were identified online without time-consuming isolation. Ethyl acetate extracts of R. crataegifolius showed strong antioxidant activities and significant protective effect against acute hepatotoxicity induced by CCl4. According to the data of HPLC-EIS-MS/MS, Oleanic acid, Phlorizin dehydrate and Quercetin-3-rhamnoside are considered as the main hepatoprotective factor in ethyl acetate extract.

Preparation and characterization of AuNPs/CNTs-ErGO electrochemical sensors for highly sensitive detection of hydrazine.

A highly sensitive electrochemical sensor of hydrazine has been fabricated by Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) coating of carbon nanotubes-electrochemical reduced graphene oxide composite film (CNTs-ErGO) on glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Cyclic voltammetry and potential amperometry have been used to investigate the electrochemical properties of the fabricated sensors for hydrazine detection. The performances of the sensors were optimized by varying the CNTs to ErGO ratio and the quantity of Au nanoparticles. The results show that under optimal conditions, a sensitivity of 9.73µAµM(-1)cm(-2), a short response time of 3s, and a low detection limit of 0.065µM could be achieved with a linear concentration response range from 0.3µM to 319µM. The enhanced electrochemical performances could be attributed to the synergistic effect between AuNPs and CNTs-ErGO film and the outstanding catalytic effect of the Au nanoparticles. Finally, the sensor was successfully used to analyse the tap water, showing high potential for practical applications.