Synthesis of Pr-doped ZnO nanospindles by one-pot precipitation as a triethylamine sensor

The development of high performance triethylamine (TEA) sensors for the protection of human safety is essential. Herein, we reported a promising semiconductor metal oxide (SMO) gas sensor based on Pr-doped ZnO nanospindles as the sensing materials for the detection of TEA. The elemental composition and micromorphology of the as-prepared samples were systematically analyzed. The gas sensing performance of the pristine, 1 mmol%, 2 mmol%, and 3 mmol% Pr-ZnO sensor was evaluated. Among them, the 2 mmol% Pr-ZnO sensor exhibited the highest response value for TEA gas, and reached 158.0 towards 50 ppm TEA at 200 °C, which was about 10.0-fold higher than the response value of the pristine ZnO sensor. In addition, the 2 mmol% Pr-ZnO sensor also showed good reproducibility, rapid response/recovery time (10/46 s), theoretical limit of detection (168 ppb), outstanding long-term stability, and excellent selectivity for TEA gas. The 2 mmol% Pr-ZnO nanospindles displayed a competitive gas sensing performance with a high response of 158 towards 50 ppm triethylamine at 200 °C. • A series of the ZnO nanospindles were prepared via one-pot precipitation method. • The 2 mmol% Pr-ZnO sensor showed the best response of 158 to 50 ppm TEA at 200 °C. • The enhanced TEA sensing performance of Pr-ZnO were discussed.