The gas sensor utilizing CeO2 nanorods for the low temperature detection of hydrogen

In this work, the ceria nanorods (8–12 nm) and nanospheres (100–140 nm) were synthesized by solvothermal method, which were verified by structural characterization techniques. Compared to the nanospheres, the ceria nanorods exhibited enhanced hydrogen gas sensing performance. The optimal operating temperature of ceria was reduced from 150 °C to 100 °C after morphology transformation. The response value of the ceria nanorods toward 1000 ppm hydrogen was 5.32, which was nearly 1.6 times higher than that of nanospheres at 100 °C. The enhanced gas sensing performance could be attributed to its larger specific surface area (21.054 m2/g) and small crystallite size (8–12 nm).