Controllable synthesis of highly crystallized mesoporous TiO2/WO3 heterojunctions for acetone gas sensing

Mesoporous semiconducting metal oxides(SMOs)heterojunctions are appealing sensors for gas detecting.However,due to the different hydrolysis and condensation mechanism of every metal precursor and the contradiction between high crystallinity and high surface area,the synthesis of mesoporous SMOs heterojunctions with highly o rdered mesostructures,highly crystallized frameworks,and high surface area remains a huge challenge.In this work,we develop a novel"acid-base pair"adjusted solvent evaporation induced self-assembly(EISA)strategy to prepare highly crystallized ordered mesoporous TiO2/WO3(OM-TiO2/WO3)heterojunctions.The WCl6 and titanium isopropoxide(TIPO)are used as the precursors,respectively,which function as the"acid-base pair",enabling the coassembly with the structure directing agent(PEO-b-PS)into highly ordered meso structures.In addition,PEO-b-PS can be converted to rigid carbon which can protect the meso structures from collapse during the crystallization process.The resultant OM-TiO2/WO3 heterojunctions possess primitive cubic mesostructures,large pore size(~21.1 nm),highly crystalline frameworks and surface area(~98 m2/g).As a sensor for acetone,the obtained OM-TiO2/WO3 show excellent re sponse/recovery perfo rmance(3 s/5 s),good linear dependence,repeatability,selectivity,and long-term stability(35 days).

Improved sensing performance of WO_(3) nanoparticles decorated with Ag and Pt nanoparticles

Gas sensors built with metal oxide semiconductors have attracted tremendous attention due to the growing demand for the detection of inflammable,explosive and toxic gases.Herein,to improve the sensing response,WO_(3) nanoparticles decorated with Ag and Pt bimetals(Ag and Pt/WO_(3) NPs)have been developed via combined hydrolysis and hydrothermal strategies.Such sensors prototypes show high response to acetone(Ra/Rg=250@100×10^(-6),140℃),which is 6.1 fold as high as that of the pristine WO_(3) NPs(Ra/Rg=41@100×10^(-6),140℃).Moreover,the recovery time of Ag and Pt/WO_(3) NPs was reduced from 138 to 13 s compared with that of the pristine WO_(3) NPs.The improved acetone sensing performance may be attributed to that the chemical and electronic sensitization of Ag and Pt to WO_(3) NPs increases adsorbed oxygen species,speeds up the reaction and thus boosts the sensing response.Our strategy that decoration of dual precious metals onto WO_(3) NPs improves the acetone sensing performance may be applied to the gas sensors of other sensing materials.

Growth-temperature-dependent optical and acetone detection properties of ZnO thin films

Zinc oxide （ZnO） thin films were prepared onto glass substrates at moderately low growth tempera- ture by two-stage spray pyrolysis technique. The effects of growth temperature on structural, optical and acetone detection properties were investigated with X-ray diffractometry, a UV-visible spectrophotometer, photoluminescence （PL） spectroscopy and a homemade gas sensor testing unit, respectively. All the films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite phase and exhibit a preferential orientation along [002] direction. The film crystallinity is gradually enhanced with an increase in growth temperature. The optical measurements show that all the films are physically highly transparent with a transmittance greater than 82% in the visible range. The band gap of the film is observed to exhibit a slight red shift with an increasing growth temperature. The PL studies on the films show UV/violet PL band at - 395 nm. Among all the films investigated, the film deposited at 250℃ demonstrates a maximum sensitivity of 13% towards 20 ppm of acetone vapors at 300℃ operating temperature.