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A nanocomposite consisting of ZnO decorated graphene oxide nanoribbons for resistive sensing of NO2 gas at room temperature

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Abstract

A composite prepared from zinc oxide and graphene oxide nanoribbons (ZnO/GONR) is demonstrated to enable improved room temperature (RT) detection of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Low-cost hydrothermal synthesis is used to construct the composite. The properties of the resistive sensor, including the sensitivity, response and recovery times, repeatability and selectivity, were investigated in the NO2 concentration range from 1 to 50 ppm at RT. The sensor, typically operated at a voltage of 5 V, exhibits a low detection limit of 1 ppm, a fast response–recovery time, and excellent repeatability which outperforms that of pure ZnO sensors. The sensing mechanism is explained in terms of a redox reaction between NO2 and oxygen anions on the surface of the ZnO/GONR composite.

Schematic representation of the NO2 sensing mechanisms on the surface of the ZnO/GONR composite and overall improved NO2 gas-sensing performance.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Outstanding Youth Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20160058), the Key Research Program of Jiangsu Province (BE2015073) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Interdisciplinary Research, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 215123, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Chao Wang, Long Zhang, Hui Huang, Rui **, Da-Peng Jiang, Shao-Hui Zhang, Lu-Jia Wang, Zi-Yang Chen & Ge-Bo Pan

  2. School of Nano Technology and Nano Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026, Hefei, People’s Republic of China

    Chao Wang, Hui Huang & Shao-Hui Zhang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 865 Changning Road, 200050, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Chao Wang & Long Zhang

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  1. Chao Wang
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Correspondence to Ge-Bo Pan.

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Wang, C., Zhang, L., Huang, H. et al. A nanocomposite consisting of ZnO decorated graphene oxide nanoribbons for resistive sensing of NO2 gas at room temperature. Microchim Acta 186, 554 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-019-3628-x

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