Au/epsilon-Fe2O3 nanocomposites as selective NO 2 gas sensors

Year: 2014

Authors: Peeters D., Barreca D., Carraro G., Comini E., Gasparotto A., Maccato C., Sada C., Sberveglieri G.

Autors Affiliation: Univ Padua, Dept Chem, I-35131 Padua, Italy; INSTM, I-35131 Padua, Italy; Ruhr Univ Bochum, D-44801 Bochum, Germany; Univ Padua, CNR IENI, I-35131 Padua, Italy; Univ Padua, INSTM, Dept Chem, I-35131 Padua, Italy; Univ Brescia, Dept Informat Engn, SENSOR Lab, I-25133 Brescia, Italy; CNR INO, I-25133 Brescia, Italy; Univ Padua, Dept Phys & Astron, I-35131 Padua, Italy.

Abstract: A combined chemical vapor deposition (CVD)/radio frequency (rf) sputtering approach to Au/Fe2O3 nanocomposites based on the scarcely investigated epsilon-iron(III) oxide polymorph is reported. The developed materials, analyzed by field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), consisted of iron oxide nanorods decorated by gold nanoparticles (NPs), whose content and distribution could be tailored as a function of sputtering time. Interestingly, the intimate Au/epsilon-Fe2O3 interfacial contact along with iron oxide one-dimensional (1D) morphology resulted in promising performances for the selective detection of gaseous NO2 at moderate working temperatures. At variance with the other iron(III) oxide polymorphs (alpha-, beta-, and gamma-Fe2O3), that display an n-type semiconducting behavior, epsilon-Fe2O3 exhibited a p-type response, clearly enhanced by Au introduction. As a whole, the obtained results indicate that the sensitization of p-type materials with metal NPs could be a valuable tool for the fabrication of advanced sensing devices.

Journal/Review: JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C

Volume: 118 (22)      Pages from: 11813  to: 11819

More Information: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement ENHANCE 238409. We also kindly acknowledge the financial support under the FP7 project SOLAROGENIX (NMP4-SL-2012-310333), and from Padova University ex-60% 2012-2013 projects, PRAT 2010 (CPDA102579), grant CPDR132937/13 (SOLLEONE), and Regione Lombardia-INSTM AT-LANTE projects: Thanks are also due to Prof. E. Bontempi (Brescia University, Italy), Prof. W. M. M. Kesse ls, and Dr. V. Longo (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands) for valuable assistance in sample characterization.
KeyWords: Au Nanoparticles; Thin-films; Sensing Performances; Sno2 Nanowires; Cvd; Alpha-fe2o3; Growth; Nanomaterials; Sensitivity; Morphology
DOI: 10.1021/jp5032288

Citations: 82
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