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Enhanced sensitivity of hydrogenated α-Fe2O3 nanoplates having {001} facets and the gas sensing mechanism

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Abstract

Hexagonal α-Fe2O3 nanoplates exposing {001} crystal planes have been synthesized by using ethanol as the control agent of crystal facets. The as-synthesized nanoplates exhibit higher responses to ethanol, methanol and triethylamine than commercial powders, and the responses can be further increased by hydrogenation. The enhancement of sensitivity is attributed to an increase in density of 3-coordinated Fe (Fe3c) atoms at the exposed (001) crystal plane after hydrogenating. The unsaturated Fe3c atoms at the Fe-terminated polar (001) surface are evidenced to serve as an active site for gas sensing, and a gas sensing mechanism at atomic scale is presented. On the (001) surface, the 3-coordinated Fe atoms adsorb oxygen and catalyzes the reaction of the adsorb oxygen with test gases. The adsorption and desorption of oxygen leads to a change in resistance of the α-Fe2O3 nanoplate sensor. This mechanism is instructive for the comprehending of gas sensing reactions, and the design of highly sensitivity gas sensing materials and devices.

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2005 The American Physical Society. c IR spectrum of the as-synthesized α-Fe2O3 hexagonal nanosheets. d The possible actual structure of (001) surface of the as-synthesized α-Fe2O3 hexagonal nanosheets

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All experiment data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52172148, 51872178 and 51702204), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. GK202003046), the 111 Project (B14041), DNL Cooperation Fund CAS (DNL180311) and the National Key Research Program of China (2016YFA0202403).

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  1. Xiaohua Meng and Chen Qi have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Advanced Energy Devices; Shaanxi Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Energy Technology; Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science of Shaanxi Province, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 710119, China

    Xiaohua Meng, Chen Qi, Yan Ren, Yali Zhou, Mengdi Chen, Le Zhang, Bin Liu & Heqing Yang

  2. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xianyang Normal University, Xian Yang, 712000, China

    Xiaohua Meng

  3. Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry; National Ministry of Education Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Advanced Energy; Devices Shaanxi Engineering Lab for Advanced Energy Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 710119, China

    Shengzhong Liu

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Contributions

X. H. Meng performed the important experiment and revised manuscript; Chen, Qi performed the experiment and wrote the manuscript; Y, Ren and Y. L. Zhou helped analyze the experimental data; M. D. Chen and L. Zhang contributed to construction and analysis of atomic model. S. Z. Liu contributed significantly to analysis. B. Liu and H. Q. Yang helped perform the analysis with constructive discussions and revised manuscript.

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Correspondence to Bin Liu or Heqing Yang.

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Meng, X., Qi, C., Ren, Y. et al. Enhanced sensitivity of hydrogenated α-Fe2O3 nanoplates having {001} facets and the gas sensing mechanism. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 3617–3630 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-07555-1

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