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Low operating temperature of UV photo-activated In-doped ZnO NO2 sensors

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Abstract

Indium-doped ZnO (IZO) nanopowders with different In loading (1 at.%, 3 at.% and 5 at.%) have been synthesized by the sol–gel method Characterization analysis was carried out for evaluating the morphological and microstructural properties of the synthesized IZO samples. XRD analysis revealed that the IZO nanopowders are polycrystalline and exhibited a hexagonal wurtzite structure. The average crystallites size was found to decrease with the incorporation of indium dopant. Resistive sensors based on the pure and IZO nanopowders have been fabricated and tested towards NO2 monitoring at low concentrations in air in both dark and under ultraviolet (UV) illumination at λ = 380 nm. Results demonstrated that the baseline resistance of the sensors was reduced because of In doping and UV irradiation. Thus, IZnO-based resistive sensors were able to work at near room temperature (T = 50 °C) in presence of UV light, reaching a high gas response S = Rg/Ra of 8.4 towards 5 ppm of NO2 and a limit of detection (LOD) of 250 ppb. These results demonstrate that the developed devices are promising NO2 sensors for practical applications.

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The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Funding

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deputyship for Research and Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia for funding this research through the project number IFP-IMSIU-2023045. The authors also appreciate the Deanship of Scientific Research at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) for supporting and supervising this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, College of Sciences, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), 11623, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    M. Hjiri & A. Alkaoud

  2. Department of Engineering, University of Messina, 98166, Messina, Italy

    G. Neri

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  1. M. Hjiri
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MH: data curation, writing and editing. AA: conceptualization, formal analysis. GN reviewing; supervision.

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Correspondence to M. Hjiri.

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Hjiri, M., Alkaoud, A. & Neri, G. Low operating temperature of UV photo-activated In-doped ZnO NO2 sensors. Appl. Phys. A 129, 861 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-023-07137-4

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