Abstract
SnO2/graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) composites were synthesized via a facile solid-state method by using SnCl4·5H2O and urea as the precursor. The structure and morphology of the as-synthesized composites were characterized by the techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and N2 sorption. The results indicated that the composites possessed a two-dimensional (2-D) structure, and the SnO2 nanoparticles were highly dispersed on the surface of the g-C3N4 nanosheets. The gas-sensing performance of the samples to ethanol was tested, and the SnO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite-based sensor exhibited admirable properties. The response value (Ra/Rg) of the SnO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite with 10 wt % 2-D g-C3N4 content-based sensor to 500 ppm of ethanol was 550 at 300 °C. However, the response value of pure SnO2 was only 320. The high surface area of SnO2/g-C3N4-10 (140 m2·g−1) and the interaction between 2-D g-C3N4 and SnO2 could strongly affect the gas-sensing property.
Highlights
With the development of social industrialization, the leakage and pollution of poisonous gas occur frequently in people’s daily life
We demonstrated an ethanol gas sensor based on a SnO2 /g-C3 N4 nanocomposite, which was synthesized by a facile solid-state method using a grinding treatment at room temperature
The SnO2 nanoparticles were highly distributed on the g-C3 N4 sheets
Summary
With the development of social industrialization, the leakage and pollution of poisonous gas occur frequently in people’s daily life. In the past several years, various metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) materials, such as SnO2 [7], ZnO [8], CuO [9], α-Fe2 O3 [10], Co3 O4 [11], MnO2 [12], WO3 [13], In2 O3 [14], and NiO [15], were used to prepare gas sensors, which possess the outstanding advantages of low cost, controllable size, high-response value, and fast response and recovery time. Aerographite/nanocrystalline ZnO hybrid network materials were prepared and exhibited strong visible light scattering behavior and broadband photo absorption [18]. As is typical of n-type metal oxide semiconductors, SnO2 is widely used as a candidate in the gas-sensing field for its wide band gap of 3.6 eV, good chemical stability, and Materials 2017, 10, 604; doi:10.3390/ma10060604 www.mdpi.com/journal/materials
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