Hydrothermal synthesis of CeO 2 SnO 2 nanocomposites with highly enhanced gas sensing performance towards n-butanol

摘要

CeO2SnO2nanocomposite, a sensing material, was successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The structural, optical and morphological properties of as-prepared CeO2SnO2nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results reveal that the highly crystalline nanocomposite heterostructure is formed, and it possesses a spherical-like morphology with an average grain size of 30?nm. Furthermore, the gas sensing properties towards several volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as n-butanol, isopropanol, ethanol and acetone were studied. Interestingly, comparing with bare SnO2and CeO2, the CeO2SnO2sensor shows the highest sensitivity towards n-butanol at an operating temperature of 110?°C. This indicates that the CeO2SnO2nanocomposite can be a promising candidate for sensor application towards the detection of n-butanol.