High-sensitivity NO2 gas sensors based on flower-like and tube-like ZnO nanomaterials

Hierarchical flower-like and 1D tube-like ZnO architectures were synthesized by a microemulsion-based solvothermal method. Technologies of XRD, SEM and TEM were used to characterize the morphological and structural properties of the products. The influence of the flower-like and tube-like morphologies on their NO2 sensing properties was investigated. The experimental results showed that high-sensitivity NO2 gas sensors were fabricated. The sensitivity of the tube-like ZnO gas sensor was much higher than that of the flower-like ZnO gas sensor and the tube-like ZnO gas sensor exhibited shorter response time. The in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) technique was employed to investigate the NO2 sensing mechanisms. Free nitrate ions, nitrate and nitrite were the main adsorbed species during the adsorption, and NO also existed in the initial period of surface reoxidation. Furthermore, N2O was formed via NO− and N2O2− stemmed from NO and increased upon rising temperature. Moreover, the PL spectra and the XPS spectra further proved that the intensity of donors (oxygen vacancy (VO) and zinc interstitial (Zni)) and surface oxygen species (O2− and O2) involved in the gas sensing mechanism leaded to the different sensitivities.