The Sensing Properties of Single Y-Doped SnO2 Nanobelt Device to Acetone
Li et al. Nanoscale Research Letters
The Sensing Properties of Single Y-Doped SnO Nanobelt Device to Acetone 2
Xinmin Li 1 2 4
Yingkai Liu 0 1 2 3 4
Shuanghui Li 1 2 4
Jieqing Huang 1 2 4
Yuemei Wu 1 2 4
Dapeng Yu 2 5
0 Key Laboratory of Yunnan Normal University for Photoelectric Materials & Device , Kunming 650500 , People's Republic of China
1 Key Laboratory of Yunnan Higher Education Institutes for Optoelectronic Information and Technology , Kunming 650500 , People's Republic of China
2 Institute of Physics and Electronic Information, Yunnan Normal University , Kunming 650500 , People's Republic of China
3 Key Laboratory of Yunnan Normal University for Photoelectric Materials & Device , Kunming 650500 , People's Republic of China
4 Key Laboratory of Yunnan Higher Education Institutes for Optoelectronic Information and Technology , Kunming 650500 , People's Republic of China
5 Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871 , People's Republic of China
Pure SnO2 and Y-doped SnO2 nanobelts were prepared by thermal evaporation at 1350 °C in the presence of Ar carrier gas (30 sccm). The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersion spectrometer (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR). The sensing properties of the devices based on a single SnO2 nanobelt and Y-doped SnO2 nanobelt were explored to acetone, ethanol, and ethanediol. It reveals that the sensitivity of single Y-doped SnO2 nanobelt device is 11.4 to 100 ppm of acetone at 210 °C, which is the highest response among the three tested VOC gases. Y3+ ions improve the sensitivity of SnO2 sensor and have an influence on the optical properties of Y-doped SnO2 nanobelts.
SnO2 nanobelts; Y3+ doping; Gas sensor; Optical properties; Acetone
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Background
With the development of science and technology as well as
people’s increasing concerns for the environment,
considerable attentions are paid to efficiently and precisely detect
and supervise flammable, explosive, or poisonous gases [1].
As a transparent n-type semiconductor with a band
gap of 3.6 eV, SnO2 can be used as photoelectric devices,
sensors, catalysts, and other functional materials [2].
Due to the unique physicochemical properties of SnO2
and enhanced sensing properties of nanostructured
materials, quasi-one-dimensional (1D) SnO2 nanomaterials
are being widely studied [3]. Various methods were
developed to synthesize nanostructured SnO2 materials,
such as the sol-gel method, liquid precursor method [4],
electroplating tin thermal oxidation method [5], and
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method [6]. Therefore,
synthesis of 1D nanostructured SnO2 materials has made
great achievements [7, 8]. SnO2 with various
morphologies such as nanoparticle, nanowire, nanosilk,
nanosawtooth, nanobelt, or nanotube are obtained by the
abovementioned methods [9–11], which can be used
as building blocks for functional devices [12, 13].
Inherent small size effect and surface effect of
nanomaterials make SnO2 possess particular
physicochemical properties, which are beneficial for gas sensors
and solar cells [14–17].
From the point view of pollution, acetone (a common
reagent used widely in industries and labs) is harmful to
human health. It is extensively used to dissolve plastic,
purify paraffin, and dehydrate tissues in pharmaceutics
[18]. Inhalation of acetone causes headache, fatigue, and
even narcosis and harmfulness to the nerve system.
Hence, it is necessary to monitor acetone concentration
in the environment for health and safety purposes in the
factory [19].
In this work, we undertake the study on the
fabrication and characterization of the devices based on a
single SnO2 nanobelt (NB)/Y-SnO2. After that, we
systematically investigate the sensing properties of single
SnO2 NB/Y-SnO2 NB device. Based on it, the
influence of Y elements on the sensing properties of SnO2
NB is discussed.
Methods
Synthesis of Y-Doped SnO2 NBs
Y-doped SnO2 NBs (hereafter denoted as “Y-SnO2 NBs”)
were prepared by thermal evaporation technique. For
synthesis of Y-SnO2 NBs, SnO2 powders with a purity of
99.99 % were mixed with Y powders (Yttrium (III)
© The Author(s). 2016 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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Fig. 1 The schematic diagram of the test system
acetate tetrahydrate 99.99 %) in the weight ratio of 20:1
and then put into a ceramic boat. The boat was placed
in the center of the alundum tube, which was installed
in a high-temperature furnac (...truncated)