In this paper, a nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) gas sensor using nitrogen-doped double-walled carbon nanotubes (N-DWCNTs) with different types of nitrogen is demonstrated, and the sensor performance to the pyridinic nitrogen is related. The ratio of nitrogen is controlled by the temperature applied for the synthesis. It is found that the fabricated sensor from N-DWCNTs enable an approximately threefold improvement in NO 2 detection compared to the sensor from DWCNTs. Also, the improvement of sensor response of N-DWCNTs more depends on the pyridinic site than the other types of nitrogen, because it can strongly interact with the NO 2 molecule. The sensing mechanism is attributed to the charge transfer between the NO 2 molecule and the sensing materials (especially with pyridinic site), which shifts the Fermi level, resulting in a decrease of the electrical resistance. Furthermore, the relation between the sensor response and the concentration of NO 2 is derived based on Langmuir adsorption isotherm, and the calculated detection limit can be down to 0.14 ppm, which suggests that the N-DWCNTs-based sensor is a promising approach for low concentration NO 2 detection at room temperature.
Here, we present a facile technique for synthesis of graphene nanosheet (GNS)-grafted double-walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT) hybrid carbon nanostructures (here after referred to as G-DWCNTs) by directly growing GNSs along the sidewalls of DWCNTs using a two-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD). DWCNTs were synthesized by floating catalyst CVD at 1300 °C using ferrocene and thiophene dissolved in ethanol. Then, GNSs were grafted onto the synthesized DWCNT bundles by thermal CVD at 1300 °C using ethanol. The sharp-edged petal-like structure of GNSs were grown along the sidewalls of DWCNT bundles while maintaining the one-dimensional structure of DWCNT. Next, DWCNTs and G-DWCNTs were dispersed in ethanol, then deposited on the paper using vacuum filtration method and used for ethanol detection. G-DWCNTs sensor exhibited a 3-fold improvement in the response to ethanol vapor compared to the DWCNTs sensor. The sensing mechanism of DWCNTs and G-DWCNTs can be described in terms of charge transfer between the gas molecules and sensing material. These results demonstrate that the facile technique by two-step CVD method provides a promising approach for simple and low-cost technique to synthesize the hybrid nanostructure of GNSs and DWCNTs. The new hybrid carbon nanostructures are attractive for gas sensing application.
A room-temperature hydrogen gas (H2) sensor was successfully fabricated by dispersion of palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) on graphene sheets (GRs) (hereafter referred to as “Pd NPs/GRs”). GRs and Pd NPs were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition technique and by polyol process, respectively. A colloidal solution of Pd NPs with an average diameter of 11 nm was then dispersed onto the GRs by spin coating technique. The density of dispersed Pd NPs on GRs was controlled by varying the volume of the dispersed solution within the range of 50 – 150 μL. The fabricated Pd NPs/GRs sensors exhibited a high sensitivity for H2 gas with a concentration of 1500 – 6000 ppm at room temperature. Upon H2 exposure, the Pd NPs/GRs sensors showed an increase in electrical resistance, which could easily be measured. The relationship between sensor response and H2 concentration is in correspondence with the Langmuir adsorption model. The H2 detection limit is estimated to be 1 ppm. The results demonstrate that the Pd NPs/GRs sensor is an easily fabricated, but very effective means for room-temperature detection of H2at ppm level.
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