Highly sensitive and selective H2S sensor based on porous ZnFe2O4 nanosheets

Abstract

Increasing demands for detection of toxic gases in ambient atmosphere have attracted much attention to design and fabricate gas sensors with high sensitivity, good selectivity and low operating temperature. Herein, porous ZnFe2O4 nanosheets (NSs) have been successfully synthesized using graphene sheets as hard templates. The as-fabricated ZnFe2O4 NSs are composed of small particles with a diameter of approximately 10–20nm and the pore size in the NSs is in range of 5–50nm. In comparison with the Fe2O3 NSs, ZnO NSs and ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs), the gas sensors based on ZnFe2O4 NSs exhibit superior H2S sensing performance, including high sensor response at a low working temperature (85°C), relatively fast response and recovery times, and good selectivity. Furthermore, the sensors based on ZnFe2O4 NSs show good repeatability and long-term stability. Our results demonstrate that the porous ZnFe2O4 NSs are very promising for the fabrication of high-performance H2S gas sensors. The work highlights the possibility to develop a novel high performance gas sensor for practical applications.