Nanoscaled tin dioxide films processed from organotin-based hybrid materials: an organometallic route toward metal oxide gas sensors

Acetylene hydrochlorination over tin nitrogen based catalysts: effect of nitrogen carbon-dots as nitrogen precursor

The catalysts comprising the main active compounds of Sn-Nx were synthesized using trichlorophenylstannane ((C6H5)Cl3Sn), nitrogen carbon-dots (NCDs), and activated carbon (AC) as starting materials, and the activity and stability of catalysts was evaluated in the acetylene hydrochlorination. According to the results on the physical and chemical properties of catalysts (TEM, XRD, BET, XPS and TG), it is concluded that NCDs@AC can increase (C6H5)Cl3Sn dispersity, retard the coke deposition of (C6H5)Cl3Sn/AC and lessen the loss of (C6H5)Cl3Sn, thereby further promoting the stability of (C6H5)Cl3Sn/AC. Based on the characterization results of C2H2-TPD and HCl adsorption experiments, we proposed that the existence of Sn-Nx can effectively strengthen the reactants adsorption of catalysts. By combing the FT-IR, C2H2-TPD and Rideal-Eley mechanism, the catalytic mechanism, in which C2H2 is firstly adsorbed on (C6H5)Cl3Sn to form (C6H5)Cl3Sn-C2H2 and then reacted with HCl to produce vinyl chloride, is proposed.

Finely Tuned SnO2 Nanoparticles for Efficient Detection of Reducing and Oxidizing Gases: The Influence of Alkali Metal Cation on Gas-Sensing Properties

Tin dioxide (SnO₂) nanoparticles were straightforwardly synthesized using an easily scaled-up liquid route that involves the hydrothermal treatment, either under acidic or basic conditions, of a commercial tin dioxide particle suspension including potassium counterions. After further thermal post-treatment, the nanomaterials have been thoroughly characterized by Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and nitrogen sorption porosimetry. Varying pH conditions and temperature of the thermal treatment provided cassiterite SnO₂ nanoparticles with crystallite sizes ranging from 7.3 to 9.7 nm and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface areas ranging from 61 to 106 m²·g^-1, acidic conditions favoring potassium cation removal. Upon exposure to a reducing gas (H₂, CO, and volatile organic compounds such as ethanol and acetone) or oxidizing gas (NO₂), layers of these SnO₂ nanoparticles led to highly sensitive, reversible, and reproducible responses. The sensing results were discussed in regard to the crystallite size, specific area, valence band energy, Debye length, and chemical composition. Results highlight the impact of the counterion residuals, which affect the gas-sensing performance to an extent much higher than that of size and surface area effects. Tin dioxide nanoparticles prepared under acidic conditions and calcined in air showed the best sensing performances because of lower amount of potassium cations and higher crystallinity, despite the lower surface area.

Orthorhombic SnO2 phase observed composite (Sn1−xCex)O2 synthesized by sol–gel route

Schematic representation of unit cell structure of the phases: (a) tetragonal SnO₂; (b) orthorhombic SnO₂. Tin atoms (Sn) are represented in gray and oxygen atoms (O) in red. K. Momma and F. Izumi, J. Appl. Crystallogr., 2011, 44, 1272–1276.

Flexible ultra-sensitive and resistive NO2 gas sensor based on nanostructured Zn(x)Fe(1−x)2O4

Low concentration gas detection, rapid response time and low working temperature are anticipated for a varied range of toxic gas detection applications. Conversely, the existing gas sensors suffer mostly from a high working temperature along with a slow response at low concentrations of analytes. Here, we report an ultrasensitive flexible nanostructured Zn_(x)Fe_(1−x)2O₄ (x = 0.1, 0.5 and 0.9) based chemiresistive sensor for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) detection. We evince that the prepared flexible sensor Zn_(0.5)Fe_(0.5)2O₄ has detection potential as low as 5 ppm at a working temperature of 90 °C in a short phase. Further, the Zn_(0.5)Fe_(0.5)2O₄ sensor exhibits excellent selectivity, stability and repeatability. The optimized sensor sensing characteristics can be helpful in tremendous development of foldable mobile devices for environmental monitoring, protection and control.

Low concentration gas detection, rapid response time and low working temperature are anticipated for a varied range of toxic gas detection applications.

Low operating temperature toluene sensor based on novel α-Fe2O3/SnO2 heterostructure nanowire arrays

A novel low operating temperature toluene sensor based on α-Fe₂O₃/SnO₂ heterostructure nanowires arrays by combining USP and hydrothermal strategy.

Nanosheet-assembled ZnFe2O4 hollow microspheres for high-sensitive acetone sensor

Semiconductor oxides with hierarchically hollow architecture can provide significant advantages as sensing materials for gas sensors by facilitating the diffusion of target gases. Herein, we develop a facile template-free solvothermal strategy combined with the subsequent thermal treatment process toward the successful synthesis of novel ZnFe2O4 hollow flower-like microspheres. The images of electron microscopy unambiguously indicated that the ZnFe2O4 nanosheets with thickness of around 20 nm assembled hierarchically to form the unique flower-like architecture. As a proof-of-concept demonstration of the function, the as-prepared product was utilized as sensing material for gas sensor. Significantly, in virtue of the porous shell structure, hollow interior, and large surface area, ZnFe2O4 hierarchical microspheres exhibited high response, excellent cyclability, and long-term stability to acetone at the operating temperature of 215 °C.

3D Fe3O4 nanoparticle/graphene aerogel for NO2 sensing at room temperature

Three-dimensional graphene aerogel-supported Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles for efficient detection of NO₂ at room temperature are reported.

Highly crystalline Ti-doped SnO2 hollow structured photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic activity for degradation of organic dyes

We developed a facile infiltration route for synthesizing hollow-structured SnO₂ with an adjustable Ti doping content using SiO₂ microspheres as hard templates via an improved Stober method.

Formation of orthorhombic SnO2 originated from lattice distortion by Mn-doped tetragonal SnO2

In this article, orthorhombic phase SnO₂ from Mn-doped tetragonal phase SnO₂ has been successfully prepared by a chemical co-precipitation method.

A comprehensive review on synthesis methods for transition-metal oxide nanostructures

Recent developments of transition-metal oxide nanostructures with designed shape and dimensionality, including various synthesis methods and applications, are presented.

Facile synthesis of novel 3D nanoflower-like Cu(x)O/multilayer graphene composites for room temperature NO(x) gas sensor application

3D nanoflower-like CuxO/multilayer graphene composites (CuMGCs) have been successfully synthesized as a new type of room temperature NOx gas sensor. Firstly, the expanded graphite (EG) was activated by KOH and many moderate functional groups were generated; secondly, Cu(CH3COO)2 and CTAB underwent full infusion into the interlayers of activated EG (aEG) by means of a vacuum-assisted technique and then reacted with the functional groups of aEG accompanied by the exfoliation of aEG via reflux. Eventually, the 3D nanoflower consisting of 5-9 nm CuxO nanoparticles homogeneously grow in situ on aEG. The KOH activation of EG plays a key role in the uniform formation of CuMGCs. When being used as gas sensors for detection of NOx, the CuMGCs achieved a higher response at room temperature than that of the corresponding CuxO. In detail, the CuMGCs show a higher NOx gas sensing performance with low detection limit of 97 ppb, high gas response of 95.1% and short response time of 9.6 s to 97.0 ppm NOx at room temperature. Meanwhile, the CuMGC sensor presents a favorable linearity, good selectivity and stability. The enhancement of the sensing response is mainly attributed to the improved conductivity of the CuMGCs. A series of Mott-Schottky and EIS measurements demonstrated that the CuMGCs have much higher donor densities than CuxO and can easily capture and migrate electrons from the conduction band, resulting in the enhancement of electrical conductivity.

Controllable low-temperature chemical vapor deposition growth and morphology dependent field emission property of SnO2 nanocone arrays with different morphologies

Vertically aligned SnO2 nanocones with different morphologies have been directly grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates in a large area by heating a mixture of stannous chloride dihydrate (SnCl2·2H2O) and anhydrous zinc chloride (ZnCl2) at 600 °C in air. Control over the SnO2 nanocone arrays with different morphologies is achieved by adjusting the heat treatment time. The SnO2 nanocones are single crystalline with the tetragonal structure. A single-layer SnO2 nanoparticle film is first formed via the vapor-solid (VS) process due to the decentralization function of ZnCl2 vapor, and the SnO2 nanoparticles served as seeds and grew into nanocone arrays via the VS process. The sharp-tipped nanostructure formation may originate from a concentration gradient of reactant in the growth process. The as-obtained whiskerlike nanocone arrays exhibit enhanced field emission properties in comparison with typical nanoconelike structure arrays and other SnO2 nanostructured materials reported previously, and the turn-on field and field-enhancement factor is 1.19 V/μm and 3110, respectively. The experimental result is consistent with the Utsumi's relative figure of merit for pillar-shaped emitters.