Facile synthesis and enhanced acetone sensing properties of ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite at room temperature

This paper reports a clear outline of the synthesis and gas-sensing characteristics of pure ZnO, TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) and ZnO/TiO2 (ZT) nanocomposite (NC) for acetone detection at room temperature for diabetes screening. The samples were synthesized using an uncomplicated low-cost co-precipitation method. The ZT nanocomposites have shown a combined phase structure of ZnO (wurtzite) and TiO2 (anatase) from X-ray diffraction. The absorbance of the samples was analyzed by UV–Vis Spectrophotometer and a variation in the optical bandgap is studied. A high-performance ZT NC gas sensor is successfully realized for excellent selectivity, and quick response-recovery towards acetone detection. The sensing mechanism is ascribed to the composition, morphology, and enhanced oxygen adsorption sites revealing better performances than the pure ZnO and TiO2 NPs. The ZT NC of composition ZnO (0.60 at.%):TiO2 (0.40 at.%) is observed to enhance the acetone gas detection signal for the lowest sub micro level ppb concentration of 100 ppb (parts per billion) in comparison to the pure ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles. A superior response time (τres) of 13 s and recovery time (τrec) of 11 s are observed for ZT-1 sample with a high sensitivity response of 179 % is studied and therefore the nanocomposite material can be successfully utilized for acetone biomarker in diabetes.