• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.41-46
• /
• 2015

In this work, pure hierarchical ZnO structure was prepared using a simple hydrothermal method, and Ag nanoparticles doped hierarchical ZnO structure was synthesized uniformly through photochemical route. The reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been synthesized by typical Hummer's method and reduced by hydrazine. Prepared Ag/ZnO nanostructures are uniformly dispersed on the surface of rGO sheets using ultrasonication process. The synthesized samples were characterized by SEM, TEM, EDS, XRD and PL spectra. The average size of prepared ZnO microspheres was around $2{\sim}3{\mu}m$ and showed highly uniform. The average size of doped-Ag nanoparticles was 50 nm and decorated into ZnO/rGO network. The $C_2H_2$ gas sensing properties of as-prepared products were investigated using resistivity-type gas sensor. Ag/ZnO-rGO based sensors exhibited good performances for $C_2H_2$ gas in comparison with the Ag/ZnO. The $C_2H_2$ sensor based on Ag/ZnO-rGO had linear response property from 3~1000 ppm of $C_2H_2$ concentration at working temperature of $200^{\circ}C$. The response values with 100 ppm $C_2H_2$ at $200^{\circ}C$ were 22% and 78% for Ag/ZnO and Ag/ZnO-rGO, respectively. In additions, the sensor still shows high sensitivity and quick response/recovery to $C_2H_2$ under high relative humidity conditions. Moreover, the device shows excellent selectivity towards to $C_2H_2$ gas at optimal working temperature of $200^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.462-468
• /
• 2010

A low power gas sensor with microheater was fabricated by MEMS technology. In order to heat up the gas sensing material to a operating temperature, a platinum(Pt) micro heater was built on to the micromachined Si substrate. The width and gap of microheater were $20\;{\mu}m$ and $4.5\;{\mu}m$, respectively. ZnO nanowhisker arrays were fabricated on a sensor device by hydrothermal method. The sensor device was deposited with ZnO seeds using PLD systems. A 200 ml aqueous solution of 0.1 mol zinc nitrate hexahydrate, 0.1 mol hexamethylenetetramine, and 0.02 mol polyethylenimine was used for growthing ZnO nanowhiskers. The power consumption to heat up the gas sensor to a operating temperature was measured and temperature distribution of sensor was analyzed by a Infrared Thermal Camera. The optimum temperature for highest sensitivity was found to be $250^{\circ}C$ although relatively high(64 %) sensitivity was obtained even at as low as $150^{\circ}C$. The power consumption was 72 mW at $250^{\circ}C$ and was only 25 mW at $150^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.420-426
• /
• 2020

A metal oxide semiconductor gas sensor is operated by measuring the changes in resistance that occur on the surface of nanostructures for gas detection. ZnO, which is an n-type metal oxide semiconductor, is widely used as a gas sensor material owing to its high sensitivity. Various ZnO nanostructures in gas sensors have been studied with the aim of improving surface reactions. In the present study, the sol-gel and vapor phase growth techniques were used to fabricate nanostructures to improve the sensitivity, response, and recovery rate for gas sensing. The sol-gel method was used to synthesize SnO₂ nanoparticles, which were used as the seed layer. The nanoparticles size was controlled by regulating the process parameters of the solution, such as the pH of the solution, the type and amount of solvent. As a result, the SnO₂ seed layer suppressed the aggregation of the nanostructures, thereby interrupting gas diffusion. The ZnO nanostructures with a sol-gel processed SnO₂ seed layer had larger specific surface area and high sensitivity. The gas response and recovery rate were 1-7 min faster than the gas sensor without the sol-gel process. The gas response increased 4-24 times compared to that of the gas sensor without the sol-gel method.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.24 no.7
• /
• pp.594-598
• /
• 2011

We have investigated the sensing properties of ethanol gas sensor with pure ZnO and Ga-doped ZnO nanowires on Au coated (0001) sapphire substrates grown by hot walled pulsed laser deposition. Randomly aligned ZnO nanowires arrays were grown on a Au-electrode patterned under ambient conditions. ZnO nanowires have various sizes and shapes with a different substrate position inside a furnace. The average of length and diameter of the ZnO nanowires were $8\;{\mu}m$ and 100 nm respectively, and confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy. Sensitivity chanege characterization of the gas sensor was found that measured sensitivities of the ethanol gas sensors were 83.3% and 68.3% at $300^{\circ}C$ respectively.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.25 no.7
• /
• pp.358-363
• /
• 2015

We present an excellent detection for nitrogen monoxide (NO) gas using polycrystalline ZnO wire-like films synthesized via a simple method combined with sputtering of Zn metallic films and subsequent thermal oxidation of the sputtered Zn nanowire films in dry air. Structural and morphological characterization revealed that it would be possible to synthesize polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite ZnO films of a wire-like nanostructure with widths of 100-150 nm and lengths of several microns by controlling the sputtering conditions. It was found from the gas sensing measurements that the ZnO wire-like thin film gas sensor showed a significantly high response, with a maximum value of 29.2 for 2 ppm NO at $200^{\circ}C$, as well as a reversible fast response to NO with a very low detection limit of 50 ppb. In addition, the ZnO wire-like thin film gas sensor also displayed an NO-selective sensing response for NO, $O_2$, $H_2$, $NH_3$, and CO gases. Our results illustrate that polycrystalline ZnO wire-like thin films are potential sensing materials for the fabrication of NO-sensitive high-performance gas sensors.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.300-304
• /
• 2015

Nanorod ZnO and spherical nano ZnO for gas sensors were prepared by hydrothermal reaction method and hydrazine method, respectively. The nano-ZnO gas sensors were fabricated by a screen printing method on alumina substrates. The gas sensing properties were investigated for hydrocarbon gas. The effects of Co concentration on the structural and morphological properties of the nano ZnO:Co were investigated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. XRD patterns revealed that nanorod and spherical ZnO:Co with a wurtzite structure were grown with (100), (002), (101) peaks. The sensitivity of nanorod and spherical ZnO:Co sensors was measured for 5 ppm $CH_4$ and $CH_3CH_2CH_3$ gas at room temperature by comparing the resistance in air with that in target gases. The highest sensitivity to the $CH_4$ and $CH_3CH_2CH_3$ gas of spherical nano ZnO:Co sensors was observed at Co 6 wt%. The spherical nano ZnO:Co sensor exhibited a higher sensitivity to hydrocarbon gas than nanorod ZnO.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.455-460
• /
• 2022

Brush-like ZnO hierarchical nanostructures decorated with MgxZn1-xO (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) were fabricated and examined for application to a gas sensor. They were synthesized using vapor phase growth (VPG) on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates. To generate electronic accumulation at ZnO surface, MgZnO nanoparticles were prepared by sol-gel method, and the ratio of Mg and Zn was adjusted to optimize the device for NO₂ gas detection. As the electrons in the accumulation layer generated by the heterojunction reacted faster and more frequently with the gas, the sensitivity and speed improved. When tested as sensing materials for gas sensors at 100 ppm NO₂ at 300℃, these MgZnO decorated ZnO nanostructures exhibited an improvement from 165 to 514 times compared to pristine ZnO. The response and recovery time of the MgZnO decorated ZnO samples were shorter than those of the pristine ZnO. Various analyzing techniques, including field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) were employed to confirm the growth morphology, atomic composition, and crystalline information of the samples, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.232-235
• /
• 2011

ZnO nanorods for gas sensors were prepared by a hydrothermal method. The ZnO gas sensors were fabricated on alumina substrates by a screen printing method. The gas-sensing properties of the ZnO nanorods were investigated for $CH_4$ gas. The effects of growth time on the structural and morphological properties of the ZnO nanorods were investigated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The XRD patterns of the nanocrystallized ZnO nanorods showed a wurtzite structure with the (002) predominant orientation. The diameter and length of the ZnO nanorods increased in proportion to the growth time. The sensitivity of the ZnO sensors to 5 ppm $CH_4$ gas was investigated for various growth times. The ZnO sensors exhibited good sensitivity and rapid response-recovery characteristics to $CH_4$ gas, and both traits were dependent on the growth time. The highest sensitivity of the ZnO sensors to $CH_4$ gas was observed with the growth time of 7 h. The response and recovery times were 13 s and 6 s, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.32 no.10
• /
• pp.435-441
• /
• 2022

We report the synthesis and gas sensing properties of bare and ZnO decorated TeO₂ nanowires (NWs). A catalyst assisted-vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth method was used to synthesize TeO₂ NWs and ZnO decoration was performed using an Au-catalyst assisted-VLS growth method followed by a subsequent heat treatment. Structural and morphological analyses using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning/transmission electron microscopies, respectively, demonstrated the formation of bare and ZnO decorated TeO₂ NWs with desired phase and morphology. NO₂ gas sensing studies were performed at different temperatures ranging from 50 to 400 ℃ towards 50 ppm NO₂ gas. The results obtained showed that both sensors had their best optimal sensing temperature at 350 ℃, while ZnO decorated TeO₂ NWs sensor showed much better sensitivity towards NO₂ relative to a bare TeO₂ NWs gas sensor. The reason for the enhanced sensing performance of the ZnO decorated TeO₂ NWs sensor was attributed to the formation of ZnO (n)/ TeO₂ (p) heterojunctions and the high intrinsic gas sensing properties of ZnO.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.224-228
• /
• 2004

Respectively the powder made of ZnO added $SnO_2$ was prepared by coprecipitation method and the thick film gas sensor was fabricated by screen-printing technique, The morphology and phase of the powder and film was investigated by SEM and XRD. The specific area of the particle was linearly increased with ZnO contents. Target gas was di(propylene glycol) methylether ($CH_3$($OC_3$$H_{6}$ )$_2$OH, DPGME), which is simulant gas of blister gas. The gas sensing characteristics for DPGME were examined with flow type measurement system and the concentrations of target gas were controlled from 500 ppb to 1500 ppb. ZnO (2 wt%) added $SnO_2$ showed maximum sensitivity to DPGME at $300^{\circ}C$.