Fast and green synthesis of iron oxide using low-power laser sintering on reduced graphene oxide sensor for ammonia gas detection

Abstract

Oxide materials are important for gas sensing applications. Unfortunately, most of the synthesis methods use many toxic chemicals and need long calcination at high temperatures. Thus, developing simple and green synthesis processes, which can be performed fast and at low temperatures, is imperative for both industrial manufacturers and our environment. Here, our fast and green synthesis method based on low-power laser sintering for producing FeOx (with Fe2O3 as the main composition) is presented. Besides, FeOx particles were decorated on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) to form a resistive sensor. Notably, our FeOx material can reduce the response of RGO toward acidic gas (NO2) but it enhances the RGO response toward the basic NH3 gas. Particularly, our hybrid FeOx/RGO sensor can detect NH3 gas at above 2 ppm under dry and humidified conditions (<85 % RH). That effect of FeOx is found due to the formation of alpha-phase Fe2O3 which acts as a p-type semiconductor, which is explored and explained in the discussion section. Finally, our findings not only reveal the potential of our hybrid sensing materials for practical NH3 sensing applications but also confirm the usefulness of laser-sintering to produce catalytic oxide materials environmentally friendly and at low cost.