SnO2QDs sensitized ZnFe2O4spheres with enhanced acetone sensing performance

Qiming Yuan; Weichao Li; Zhangcheng Xia; Jingjie Hu; Lifang He; Ling Jin; Liqiang Zhang; Xiangfeng Chu; Kui Zhang

doi:10.1088/1361-6528/ad39f3

SnO₂QDs sensitized ZnFe₂O₄spheres with enhanced acetone sensing performance

Nanotechnology. 2024 Apr 23;35(27). doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/ad39f3.

Authors

Qiming Yuan¹, Weichao Li¹, Zhangcheng Xia¹, Jingjie Hu¹, Lifang He¹, Ling Jin¹, Liqiang Zhang², Xiangfeng Chu¹, Kui Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Ma'anshan, Anhui 243032, People's Republic of China.
² School of Metallurgy, Anhui University of Technology, Ma'anshan, Anhui 243032, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 38569479
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ad39f3

Abstract

Herein, SnO₂QDs (<10 nm) with small size instead of conventional nanoparticles was employed to modify ZnFe₂O₄to synthesize porous and heterogeneous SnO₂/ZnFe₂O₄(ZFSQ) composites for gas sensing. By an immersion process combined with calcination treatment, the resultant porous ZFSQ composites with different contents of SnO₂QDs were obtained, and their sensing properties were investigated. Compared with bare ZnFe₂O₄and SnO₂QDs, porous ZFSQ composites based-sensors showed much improved sensor response to acetone. For contrast, the sensor performance of ZFSQ composites was also compared with that of ZnFe₂O₄sphere modified by SnO₂nanoparticles with different size. The porous ZFSQ composite with 5 wt% SnO₂QDs (ZFSQ-5) showed a better acetone sensing response than that of other ZFSQ composites, and it exhibited a high response value of 110-100 ppm of acetone and a low detection limit of 0.3 ppm at 240 °C. In addition to the rich heterojunctions and porous structure, the size effect of SnO₂QDs was other indispensable reasons for the improved sensor performance. Finally, the ZFSQ-5 composite sensor was attempted to be applied for acetone sensing in exhaled breath, suggesting its great potential in monitoring acetone.

Keywords: ZnFe2O4; acetone; exhaled breath; gas sensor; quantum dots.