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Enhancement of the acetone sensing capabilities to ppb detection level by Fe-doped three-dimensional SnO2 hierarchical microstructures fabricated via a hydrothermal method

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Abstract

Acetone detection at the parts-per-billion (ppb) level is achieved in this work using selective and optimized Fe doping of the three-dimensional (3D) flower-like SnO2 hierarchical microstructures. These structures were successfully synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal route. Detailed information about the crystal structure, surface morphology and composition of the Fe-doped SnO2 microstructures was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. Gas sensing experiments were conducted on the as-prepared Fe-doped SnO2 sensors. The measured results show that the incorporation of Fe into the SnO2 structure can greatly enhance the gas sensing properties of SnO2 sensors under the optimum working temperature (200 °C). Specifically, the 1.0 mol% Fe-doped SnO2 microstructures exhibit the highest response, fast response/recovery time, lowest detection limit and good selectivity and long-term stability. The results demonstrate that the developed Fe-doped SnO2 gas sensor has great potential for ppb-level acetone detection in many practical applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51205274), Higher school science and technology innovation Project of Shanxi (2016137), Natural Science of Shanxi Province (2016011039), Talent Project of Shanxi Province (201605D211036), Science and Technology Major Project of the Shan Xi Science and Technology Department (20121101004), Key Disciplines Construction in Colleges and Universities of Shanxi ([2012]45).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Micro and Nano System Research Center, Key Lab of Advanced Transducers and Intelligent Control System (Ministry of Education) and College of Information Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, Shanxi, China

    Jie Hu, Ying Wang, Wenda Wang, Yan Xue, Pengwei Li, Kun Lian & Wendong Zhang

  2. Research Center on Advanced Materials Science and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China

    Lin Chen

  3. Department of Applied Analytical and Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University Global Campus, 119 Songdomunhwa-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 21985, South Korea

    Serge Zhuiykov

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  1. Jie Hu
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  2. Ying Wang
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  4. Yan Xue
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  5. Pengwei Li
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  7. Lin Chen
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Correspondence to Jie Hu or Lin Chen.

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Hu, J., Wang, Y., Wang, W. et al. Enhancement of the acetone sensing capabilities to ppb detection level by Fe-doped three-dimensional SnO2 hierarchical microstructures fabricated via a hydrothermal method. J Mater Sci 52, 11554–11568 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1319-8

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