A highly sensitivity and selectivity Pt-SnO2 nanoparticles for sensing applications at extremely low level hydrogen gas detection

Publication date: Available online 9 July 2019Source: Journal of Alloys and CompoundsAuthor(s): Xi-Tao Yin, Wen-Dong Zhou, Jing Li, Qi Wang, Fa-Yu Wu, Davoud Dastan, Dong Wang, Hamid Garmestani, Xiang-Min Wang, Ştefan ŢăluAbstractUndecorated and Pt-decorated SnO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared using sol-gel and hydrothermal methods. The tin dioxide NPs, as sensing materials, were screen printed on alumina substrates with Pt test electrode to fabricate the gas sensors. The characteristics of these gas sensors in terms of composition, morphology, and sensing property were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical workstation, respectively. The results elucidated that the response time of Pt-decorated SnO2 sensor to 100 ppm H2 is 29 s at 350 °C, which is almost half of that of pure SnO2 gas sensor. Meanwhile, the effect of operating temperature and Pt decorating on the sensing properties and the ‘n’ value is studied. Comparing with many fabricated H2 gas sensors, our as-prepared sensor exhibits not only a high response time but also detects H2 gas down to 0.08 ppm. To the author's best knowledge, the detection limit of 0.08 ppm is the best reported detection limit for the gas sensors based on tin oxide NPs so far. Moreover, there is a significant enhancement in the selectivity of Pt-decorated SnO2 s...
Source: Journal of Alloys and Compounds - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research