Acetone selectivity; Aluminium doped ZnO nanoparticles; Volatile organic compounds sensors; Al-doped ZnO; Aluminum doped ZnO nanoparticle; Aluminum-doped ZnO; AZO nanoparticles; Compound sensors; Doped ZnO; Pure ZnO; Volatile organic compound sensor; ZnO nanoparticles; Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials; Ceramics and Composites; Chemistry (all); Biomaterials; Condensed Matter Physics; Materials Chemistry; General Chemistry
Abstract :
[en] We report the preparation and characterization of pure and doped ZnO nanoparticles with 1%, 3%, and 5% aluminum (AZO) using a sol-gel method followed by annealing at 400 °C for 2 h. The structural and morphological properties of the AZO nanoparticles were analyzed using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS). Optical and specific area properties were investigated by photoluminescence (PL) and N2 physisorption measurements. The results showed that pure and doped AZO nanoparticles crystallize under a hexagonal wurtzite structure and exhibit spherical shapes with nanometric dimensions. TEM and SEM images revealed that the pure and Al-doped ZnO were round nanoparticles with a size smaller that 100 nm. FTIR measurements were conducted to investigate the presence of Al-O stretching vibrations, which served as an indication of aluminum incorporation into the ZnO lattice. The results confirmed the successful integration of aluminum into the ZnO structure. Additionally, XPS measurements were performed to examine the elemental composition of the AZO samples. The presence of Zn 2p peaks in all AZO samples, along with the presence of Al 2p peaks in the Al-doped ZnO structures, provided further evidence for the successful incorporation of Al ions into the ZnO lattice. The PL spectra revealed the presence of various defects (oxygen vacancies, interstitials) in the structure of pure and doped ZnO. Moreover, we fabricated gas sensors by spray-coating the AZO nanoparticles on alumina substrates equipped with interdigitated gold electrodes. The sensors demonstrated linear responses to gas concentration in the range of 5 to 50 ppm, with high sensitivity and good reproducibility, particularly for A1ZO (1% Al-doped ZnO), which exhibited the highest response (~12) at 300 °C under 10 ppm of acetone. Furthermore, A1ZO demonstrated excellent selectivity to acetone compared to other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) gases. Our findings highlight the potential of aluminum-doped ZnO nanoparticles as a promising material for enhancing the sensing properties of acetone gas sensors. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
Disciplines :
Materials science & engineering
Author, co-author :
Benamara, Majdi ; Laboratory of Physics of Materials and Nanomaterials Applied at Environment (LaPhyMNE), Faculty of Sciences in Gabes, Gabes University, Gabes, Tunisia
Rivero-Antúnez, Pedro; Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
Dahman, Hassen; Laboratory of Physics of Materials and Nanomaterials Applied at Environment (LaPhyMNE), Faculty of Sciences in Gabes, Gabes University, Gabes, Tunisia
Essid, Manel; Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Khalid University (KKU), Abha, Saudi Arabia
Bouzidi, Souhir; Laboratoire de la Matière Condensée et des Nanosciences, Département de Physique, Faculté des Sciences de Monastir, Avenue de l’Environnement Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia
Debliquy, Marc ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service de Science des Matériaux
Lahem, Driss ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Unités externes > Materia Nova ASBL ; Materia Nova, Materials R&D Centre, Parc Initialis, Avenue Nicolas Copernic 3, Mons, Belgium
Morales-Flórez, Víctor; Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain ; Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla, Centro Mixto CSIC-Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
Esquivias, Luis; Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain ; Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla, Centro Mixto CSIC-Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
Silva, José P. B.; Physics Center of Minho and Porto Universities (CF-UM-UP), University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga, Portugal ; Laboratory of Physics for Materials and Emergent Technologies, LapMET, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
El Mir, Lassaad; Laboratory of Physics of Materials and Nanomaterials Applied at Environment (LaPhyMNE), Faculty of Sciences in Gabes, Gabes University, Gabes, Tunisia
Language :
English
Title :
Selective and rapid detection of acetone using aluminum-doped zno-based sensors
R400 - Institut de Recherche en Science et Ingénierie des Matériaux
Funding text :
The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for funding this work through a large group Research Project under grant number RGP2/110/44.This work is financially supported by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (PRF 2019-D4P2), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and the Walloon Region of Belgium through the Interreg V France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen program, under PATHACOV project, and the Micro + project co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Wallonia, Belgium (No. 675781-642409). In addition, this work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding Contract UIDB/04650/2020. J.P.B.S. also expresses gratitude to FCT for the contract under the Institutional Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus – 2021 Call (CEECINST/00018/2021).
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