Hydrothermal Synthesis of Co3O4/ZnO Hybrid Nanoparticles for Triethylamine Detection

Development of high performances gas sensors to monitor and detect the volatile organic compound triethylamine is of paramount importance for health and environmental protection. The Co3O4-ZnO nanoparticles composite was successfully synthesized by the one-step hydrothermal route and annealing process in this work. The gas sensitivity test results show that the composite exhibits excellent triethylamine-sensing performance at a cobalt content of 1 at%, indicating potential application for triethylamine detection. The sensor based on the Co3O4-ZnO composite had higher sensitivity to triethylamine, better selectivity, and faster response recovery rate compared with pure ZnO sensor. Combined with the structural characteristics of the characterized Co3O4-ZnO nanocomposite, the optimized triethylamine sensing performances can be ascribed to the p-n heterojunction effect between Co3O4 and ZnO, as well as the catalytic and high oxygen adsorption properties of Co3O4.