High sensitivity and selectivity of ZnO nanoparticle-decorated 1D a-MoO3 nanobelts toward ethanol by microwave heating

Chenhui Liu, Hongpeng Xu, C. Srinivasakannan, Zhiyu Ma, Lingbo Li, Kai Tian, Fuchang Xu

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    1 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    One-dimensional layer structure a-MoO3 nanobelts with abundant oxygen defects were effectively synthesized through a hydrothermal route and decorated by ZnO nanoparticles via a liquid-phase chemical process. ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) with a size of approximately 50 nm were uniformly dispersed on the a-MoO3 nanobelt surface, forming an n-n heterostructure at the two-phase interface. The crystalline structure, microtopography, element composition, valence state, surface-to-volume ratios, optical properties, and work function of the ZnONP-decorated a-MoO3 samples were analyzed. ZnONP-decorated a-MoO3 nanobelts with different proportions of ZnO were synthesized and subjected to ethanol sensing. The 25% loaded ZnONP-decorated a-MoO3 nanobelts were found to offer the best response (Ra/Rg = 19.2 at 100 ppm), which was 3.6 times higher than that of pristine α-MoO3 (5.37) with a low detection limit (108 ppb). The response time was significantly lower (14–27 s) than that of pristine a-MoO3 (5–8 s). Furthermore, the sensor has ultrahigh selectivity and reliable stability for ethanol. Layered MoO3 nanobelts have a unique sensing mechanism, which is the catalytic oxidation of lattice oxygen on the MoO3 surface to form oxygen vacancies and free electrons. The excellent sensing performance was ascribed to the unique 1-D nanobelt morphology of the a-MoO3 carrier, the abundance of oxygen defects, and the formation of heterojunction barriers at the two-phase interface.

    Original languageBritish English
    Pages (from-to)26920-26933
    Number of pages14
    JournalCeramics International
    Volume49
    Issue number16
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 15 Aug 2023

    Keywords

    • 1-D heterostructure
    • Ethanol-sensing properties
    • Lattice oxygen reaction mechanism
    • ZnO nanoparticle decoration
    • α-MoO nanobelts

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