Effective detection of acetone by ZnFe2O4 microspheres decorated with g-C3N4 nanosheets

Abstract

A single SMO limits the adsorption of gas, resulting in poor performance of the gas sensor. Herein, two-dimensional (2D) graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) were modified on ZnFe2O4 microspheres as efficient gas sensing materials via hydrothermal route. The modification of g-C3N4 can alter the energy band structure of ZnFe2O4, resulting in an increase in the bandgap, thus, effectively optimizing the carrier concentration in ZnFe2O4 and elevating the baseline resistance of ZnFe2O4/g-C3N4 microspheres. The sensor based on ZnFe2O4/g-C3N4-20 microspheres (mass ratio of ZnFe2O4: g-C3N4 =10:2) had a higher response value (53.3) which was 3.4 times higher than that of ZnFe2O4, better selectivity and rapid response/recovery speeds towards 100 ppm acetone, as well as a low detection limit of 255 ppb. The enhanced performance of ZnFe2O4/g-C3N4 microsphere could be ascribed to the catalysis of C3N4, regulating the energy structure, and heterojunction formation between ZnFe2O4 and g-C3N4. Thus, this work demonstrated their promising applications in various fields.