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A nanostructured Cr2O3/WO3 p–n junction sensor for highly sensitive detection of butanone

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Abstract

The highly sensitive detection of butanone was achieved by the WO3 nanosheets-Cr2O3 nanoparticles (denoted as “Cr2O3/WO3”) p–n junction nanocomposite which was synthesized via a facile two-step hydrothermal process. The structure, morphology and compositions of the as-synthesized Cr2O3/WO3 nanocomposite were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, XPS, and BET. In the gas sensing test, the response of the Cr2O3/WO3 nanocomposite (Cr/W = 1:40, 1:10) to 100 ppm butanone at 180 °C can reach to 40.51 and 38.26, respectively, which was much higher than that of independent WO3 nanosheets (10.7). Moreover, the Cr2O3/WO3 nanocomposite sensor shows rapid response (ca. 9 s)/recovery (ca. 15 s) time to 5 ppm butanone. In this work, a possible gas sensing mechanism of Cr2O3/WO3 nanocomposite sensor was also discussed based on p–n junction. The superior gas sensor properties demonstrate that Cr2O3/WO3 nanocomposite is a potential material for monitoring butanone.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge funding provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21303118 and 41274191), the Doctor Project for Young Teachers of Ministry of Education (No. 20130032120003), the Seed Foundation of Tianjin University (No. 1501).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Yaguan Road 135, Haihe Education Park, Tianjin, 300350, People’s Republic of China

    Qian Zhang, Mingkun Xu & Zhurui Shen

  2. Key Laboratory of Composite and Function Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Yaguan Road 135, Haihe Education Park, Tianjin, 300350, People’s Republic of China

    Qiang Wei

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  1. Qian Zhang
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Correspondence to Zhurui Shen or Qiang Wei.

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Zhang, Q., Xu, M., Shen, Z. et al. A nanostructured Cr2O3/WO3 p–n junction sensor for highly sensitive detection of butanone. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 28, 12056–12062 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-017-7017-0

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