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Adsorption behaviors of gas molecules on the surface of ZnO nanocrystals under UV irradiation

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Abstract

A UV-activated room temperature chemiresistive gas sensor based on ZnO nanocrystals film was fabricated. Its gas sensing properties under various conditions were also investigated in detail. The results shed new insight into the adsorption behaviors of gas molecules on the surface of ZnO nanocrystals under UV irradiation. The chemisorbed oxygen species (O−2(ads)(hv)) induced by UV light govern the adsorption and desorption ways of other gas molecules on the surface of ZnO nanocrystals, which is dependent on the electron affinity of gas molecules. Gas molecules with higher electron affinity than oxygen molecules can be adsorbed on the surface by the competitive adsorption way, extracting electrons from the surface. Gas molecules with lower electron affinity than oxygen molecules are attracted by the adsorbed O−2(ads)(hv) layer, releasing electrons to the surface. These processes can influence the gas sensing properties of the sensor. Our findings will pave the way for the fundamental understanding and design of UV-activated gas sensor in the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, 610054, China

    Qiu** Zhang, GuangZhong **e, HongFei Du, **g Yang, YuanJie Su, HuiLing Tai & Kang Zhao

  2. Key Laboratory of Information Materials of Sichuan Province, School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Ming Xu

Authors
  1. Qiu** Zhang
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  2. GuangZhong **e
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  3. HongFei Du
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  4. **g Yang
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  5. YuanJie Su
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  6. HuiLing Tai
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  7. Ming Xu
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  8. Kang Zhao
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to HuiLing Tai or Ming Xu.

Additional information

This work was supported by the Funds for Creative Research Groups of China (Grant No. 61421002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61571097, 61604033, 61671115), and the National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents (Grant No. BX201600026).

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The supporting information is available online at tech.scichina.com and springer.longhoe.net. The supporting materials are published as submitted, without typesetting or editing. The responsibility for scientific accuracy and content remains entirely with the authors.

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Zhang, Q., **e, G., Du, H. et al. Adsorption behaviors of gas molecules on the surface of ZnO nanocrystals under UV irradiation. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 62, 2226–2235 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-018-9409-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-018-9409-1

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