Strain-regulated sensing properties of α-Fe2O3 nano-cylinders with atomic carbon layers for ethanol detection

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2020.08.009

Abstract

Abstract:

The sensitivity of ethanol sensor is of paramount importance in a variety of areas, including chemical production with ethanol, alcohol testing for driving safety, etc. Herein, α-Fe₂O₃ nano-cylinders with atomic carbon layers are synthesized, for the first time, through in-situ catalytic chemical vapor deposition combined with hydrothermal techniques for the detection of ethanol. The reported α-Fe₂O₃@C nano-cylinders with double surficial strain effects deliver an ethanol detection sensitivity of ~8 times as compared with α-Fe₂O₃ nano-cylinders, ∼10 times higher as compared with its detection sensitivity to ammonia, para-xylene, methanol and benzene. The sensor also exhibits over-14-day operation stability and the minimum detection limit of 10 ppm. To our best knowledge, the performances surpass those of previously reported α-Fe₂O₃. Such attractive performances are attributed to the enhanced charge transfer in α-Fe₂O₃ owing to the double surficial strain effects of α-Fe₂O₃@C nano-cylinders and the efficient adsorption of ethanol with atomic carbon layers.

Key words: Gas sensor, Nano-cylinder, Hybrid microstructure, Sensitivity, Carbon coating

Huajing Xiong, Jianan Fu, Jinyao Li, Rashad Ali, Hong Wang, Yifan Liu, Hua Su, Yuanxun Li, Woon-Ming Lau, Nasir Mahmood, Chunhong Mu, Xian Jian. Strain-regulated sensing properties of α-Fe₂O₃ nano-cylinders with atomic carbon layers for ethanol detection[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2021, 68: 132-139.

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1. (a) Schematic illustration for the fabrication of α-Fe2O3@C hybrid structure, (b) SEM image of α-Fe2O3, (c) SEM image of α-Fe2O3@C, XRD patterns of (d) α-Fe2O3, (e) Fe3O4@C and (f) α-Fe2O3@C NCs, (g) Raman spectra of α-Fe2O3, Fe3O4@C and α-Fe2O3@C NCs and (h) the peak deconvolution of Raman spectra for α-Fe2O3@C NCs from 890 to 2000 cm-1.

Fig. 2. (a) TEM image of α-Fe2O3@C NCs, (b) HRTEM image of α-Fe2O3@C NCs representing the presence of 10 nm amorphous carbon layer, (c) HRTEM image of α-Fe2O3@C NCs (inset showing the FFT image), elemental mapping of the α -Fe2O3@C NR: (d) Fe, (e) C and (f) O elements.

Fig. 3. The XPS spectra of (a) Fe 2p and (b) O 1s of α-Fe2O3, (c) Fe 2p and (d) O 1s of α-Fe2O3@C, (e) Fe 2p and (f) O 1s of α-Fe2O3@C-300.

Fig. 4. (a) The sensitivity curves of α-Fe2O3 to ethanol gas at various concentration of 300, 400 and 500 ppm at increasing temperature, (b) the response curves of α-Fe2O3 and (c) the sensitivity curve of the α-Fe2O3 to different concentrations of ethanol gas at fixed 370 °C. (d) The sensitivity curves of α-Fe2O3@C to ethanol gas at various concentration of 30, 40, 50 and 60 ppm at different temperatures, (e) the response curves of α-Fe2O3@C and (f) the sensitivity curve of the α-Fe2O3@C to different concentrations of ethanol gas at fixed 300 °C temperature.

Table 1 Comparison of the performance of designed materials with prior reported literature.

Sensing Materials	Concentration (ppm)	Response (R_a/R_g)^a	Temp. (°C)	References
α-Fe₂O₃@C	10 ppm	5.89	300 °C	This work
	100 ppm	26.05
	200 ppm	40.23
	500ppm	57.40
Fe₂O₃/Co₃O₄	100 ppm	10.86	300 °C	[60]
Fe₂O₃/ZnO nanocomposite	10 ppm	4.7	220 °C	[61]
Fe₂O₃/CdO	100 ppm	20	300 °C	[62]
Fe₂O₃/ZnO nanorods	100 ppm	7.34	200 °C	[63]
α-Fe₂O₃	200 ppm	1.3	200 °C	[64]
Ag@Fe₂O₃	100 ppm	6.3	250 °C	[65]
Pd@ZnO	500 ppm	5.12	260 °C	[66]

Fig. 5. (a) The selectivity of α-Fe2O3 and α-Fe2O3@C NCs to different testing gases at the concentrations value of 200 ppm. (b) The long-term stability of α-Fe2O3@C NCs-based sensor at 100 ppm of ethanol gas and at optimal operating temperature of 300 °C. (c) Schematic diagram of gas sensing mechanism of 3D α-Fe2O3@C NCs and (d) the horizontal plane surface of α-Fe2O3@C NCs. (e) Lattice strain between C and α-Fe2O3 for α-Fe2O3@C NCs.

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Strain-regulated sensing properties of α-Fe₂O₃ nano-cylinders with atomic carbon layers for ethanol detection

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