Finely Tuned SnO2 Nanoparticles for Efficient Detection of Reducing and Oxidizing Gases: The Influence of Alkali Metal Cation on Gas-Sensing Properties

Year: 2018

Authors: Lee S-H., Galstyan V., Ponzoni A., Gonzalo-Juan I., Riedel R., Dourges M.-A., Nicolas Y., Toupance T.

Autors Affiliation: Univ Bordeaux, UMR CNRS 5255, Inst Sci Mol, F-33405 Talence, France; Tech Univ Darmstadt, Fachbereich Mat & Geowissenshaften, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany; Univ Brescia, Dept Informat Engn, SENSOR Lab, I-25133 Brescia, Italy; Natl Res Council CNR, Natl Inst Opt INO, Unit Brescia, I-25123 Brescia, Italy.

Abstract: Tin dioxide (SnO2) nanoparticles were straightforwardly synthesized using an easily scaled-up liquid route that involves the hydrothermal treatment, either under acidic or basic conditions, of a commercial tin dioxide particle suspension including potassium counterions. After further thermal post-treatment, the nanomaterials have been thoroughly characterized by Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and nitrogen sorption porosimetry. Varying pH conditions and temperature of the thermal treatment provided cassiterite SnO2 nanoparticles with crystallite sizes ranging from 7.3 to 9.7 nm and Brunauer−Emmett−Teller surface areas ranging from 61 to 106 m2.g−1, acidic conditions favoring potassium cation removal. Upon exposure to a reducing gas (H2, CO, and volatile organic compounds such as ethanol and acetone) or oxidizing gas (NO2), layers of these SnO2 nanoparticles led to highly sensitive, reversible, and reproducible responses. The sensing results were discussed in regard to the crystallite size, specific area, valence band energy, Debye length, and chemical composition. Results highlight the impact of the counterion residuals, which affect the gas-sensing performance to an extent much higher than that of size and surface area effects. Tin dioxide nanoparticles prepared under acidic conditions and calcined in air showed the best sensing performances because of lower amount of potassium cations and higher crystallinity, despite the lower surface area.

Journal/Review: ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES

Volume: 10 (12)      Pages from: 10173  to: 10184

More Information: This work was partly supported by the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctoral program International Doctoral School in Functional Materials for Energy, Information Technology and Health (Szu-Hsuan Lee fellowship) and the French-German University (UFA Doctoral College in Functional Materials for Energy and Information Technology) and was carried out within the framework of European Multifunctional Material Institute.
KeyWords: SnO2 nanoparticles, nanostructures, gas sensing, reducing gases (H-2, CO), oxidizing gases (NO2), volatile organic compounds
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b18140

Citations: 49
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