Abstract
In this study, three different compositions of ZnO and TiO2 powders were cold compressed and then heated at 1250 °C for five hours. The samples were ground to powder form. The powders were mixed with 5 wt % of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) as binder and 1.5 wt % carbon black and ethylene-glyco-lmono-butyl-ether as a solvent to form screen-printed pastes. The prepared pastes were screen printed on the top of alumina substrates containing arrays of three copper electrodes. The three fabricated sensors were tested to detect propanol at room temperature at two different concentration ranges. The first concentration range was from 500 to 3000 ppm while the second concentration range was from 2500 to 5000 ppm, with testing taking place in steps of 500 ppm. The response of the sensors was found to increase monotonically in response to the increment in the propanol concentration. The surface morphology and chemical composition of the prepared samples were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The sensors displayed good sensitivity to propanol vapors at room temperature. Operation under room-temperature conditions make these sensors novel, as other metal oxide sensors operate only at high temperature.
Highlights
The detection and quantification of alcohols with high sensitivity and selectivity is required in various industrial sectors, such as the pharmaceutical, chemical, clinical laboratories, agro-food and alcohol-based fuel industries
The surface morphology of the three samples was different in terms of the number, size and shape of the pores on the surface of the films; The signal noise was high in the lower concentration range (500–2500 ppm) compared with the response of the same sensors for the higher concentration range (2500–5000 ppm)
The electrochemical results from by concentrations; sensor 2and the highest for propanol, followed these sensors showed: sensor 3 and sensor 1 at higher concentrations;. They had good sensitivity to propanol at room temperature; This difference in sensor response couldvapor be associated with the final composition of the sensing
Summary
The detection and quantification of alcohols with high sensitivity and selectivity is required in various industrial sectors, such as the pharmaceutical, chemical, clinical laboratories, agro-food and alcohol-based fuel industries. TiO2 thin film-based gas sensors were demonstrated for detection of methanol, ethanol and benzene at room temperature [6]. It can be concluded from the research studies that a high operating temperature is required for transforming the metal oxides from insulator to semiconductor state. Gold or platinum electrodes are commonly used, which makes these sensors expensive These limitations of metal oxide-based sensors have encouraged researchers to use polymer gas sensors, which work at room temperature with low power consumption. To detect methanol, ethanol and benzene at room temperature, a TiO2 dispersed in poly vinylidenflouoride (PVDF) gas sensor was used [6]. In previous studies by our group, NiFe2 O4 and ZnFe2 O4 gas sensors were developed and tested for sensing methanol, ethanol, and propanol at room temperature [21,22,23]
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