A high-performance ethylene glycol sensor based on fibrous ErFeO3 prepared by electrostatic spinning

Abstract

Ethylene glycol is a toxic industrial solvent and the detection of traces is important for human health. ErFeO3 nanofibers provide a different strategy to fabricate high-performance ethylene glycol sensors. Here, an ethylene glycol gas sensor based on ErFeO3 nanofibers was fabricated by uniaxial electrospinning combined with high-temperature calcination. The crystal structure, morphology and elemental composition of the materials have been studied using various techniques. The results show that ErFeO3 nanofibers with uniform morphology and perovskite structure have been successfully prepared. Gas sensing test indicated that ErFeO3 nanofibers showed the greatest response (15.8) to 100 ppm ethylene glycol with a low optimal temperature (230 °C). Furthermore, the sensor has outstanding reproducibility, high selectivity, great stability and a low detection base limit (35 ppb). The reason for the sensor's high sensitivity to ethylene glycol is that the pores on the ErFeO3 nanofibers provide effective diffusion channels and sufficient gas-sensitive active sites for gas molecules. Therefore, the research carried out in this thesis will contribute to developing new high-performance ethylene glycol sensors.