Porous hollow sphere structure PrFeO3 as an efficient sensing material for n-butanol detection

Abstract

N-butanol is a harmful volatile gas, so creating an appropriate n-butanol sensor is critical for preserving human health and the manufacturing environment. In contrast to single metal oxide semiconductors, multicomponent metal oxides, especially perovskite ternary metal oxides with the ABO3 structure, exhibit significant potential for development owing to their precise structures and diverse physicochemical properties. In this paper, three-dimensional porous hollow spheres PrFeO3 were synthesized by combining air annealing and hydrothermal techniques. The crystal structure, surface composition, chemical state, and morphology of PrFeO3 materials were evaluated using several kinds of characterization approaches. The gas sensitivity of PrFeO3 materials was also thoroughly explored. The results show that at the optimal working temperature of 280 ℃, the PrFeO3 material excels in n-butanol gas sensing, with a response of 85 for 100 ppm n-butanol. Additionally, the sensor demonstrates high selectivity for n-butanol gases, low concentration detection capability, outstanding repeatability, rapid reaction recovery time (18 s/13 s), long-term stability, and exceptional reproducibility. The unique morphology and high oxygen vacancy content of PrFeO3 provide numerous active sites on its surface, promoting the adsorption and desorption of n-butanol gas molecules and enhancing its gas-sensitive properties.