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Lupan O, Santos-Carballal D, Magariu N, Mishra AK, Ababii N, Krüger H, Wolff N, Vahl A, Bodduluri MT, Kohlmann N, Kienle L, Adelung R, de Leeuw NH, Hansen S. Al 2O 3/ZnO Heterostructure-Based Sensors for Volatile Organic Compounds in Safety Applications. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2022; 14:29331-29344. [PMID: 35704838 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c03704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in harsh environments, especially for safety applications, is a growing field that requires specialized sensor structures. In this work, we demonstrate the sensing properties toward the most common VOCs of columnar Al2O3/ZnO heterolayer-based sensors. We have also developed an approach to tune the sensor selectivity by changing the thickness of the exposed amorphous Al2O3 layer from 5 to 18 nm. Columnar ZnO films are prepared by a chemical solution method, where the exposed surface is decorated with an Al2O3 nanolayer via thermal atomic layer deposition at 75 °C. We have investigated the structure and morphology as well as the vibrational, chemical, electronic, and sensor properties of the Al2O3/ZnO heterostructures. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies show that the upper layers consist of amorphous Al2O3 films. The heterostructures showed selectivity to 2-propanol vapors only within the range of 12-15 nm thicknesses of Al2O3, with the highest response value of ∼2000% reported for a thickness of 15 nm at the optimal working temperature of 350 °C. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the Al2O3/ZnO(1010) interface and its interaction with 2-propanol (2-C3H7OH), n-butanol (n-C4H9OH), ethanol (C2H5OH), acetone (CH3COCH3), hydrogen (H2), and ammonia (NH3) show that the molecular affinity for the Al2O3/ZnO(1010) interface decreases from 2-propanol (2-C3H7OH) ≈ n-butanol (n-C4H9OH) > ethanol (C2H5OH) > acetone (CH3COCH3) > hydrogen (H2), which is consistent with our gas response experiments for the VOCs. Charge transfers between the surface and the adsorbates, and local densities of states of the interacting atoms, support the calculated strength of the molecular preferences. Our findings are highly important for the development of 2-propanol sensors and to our understanding of the effect of the heterojunction and the thickness of the top nanolayer on the gas response, which thus far have not been reported in the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleg Lupan
- Department of Materials Science, Chair for Functional Nanomaterials, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Kaiserstraße 2, D-24143 Kiel, Germany
- Center for Nanotechnology and Nanosensors, Department of Microelectronics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Computers, Informatics and Microelectronics, Technical University of Moldova, 168 Stefan cel Mare str., MD-2004 Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
- Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816-2385, United States
| | | | - Nicolae Magariu
- Center for Nanotechnology and Nanosensors, Department of Microelectronics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Computers, Informatics and Microelectronics, Technical University of Moldova, 168 Stefan cel Mare str., MD-2004 Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
| | - Abhishek Kumar Mishra
- Department of Physics, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Energy Acres Building, Bidholi, Dehradun 248007, Uttrakhand, India
| | - Nicolai Ababii
- Center for Nanotechnology and Nanosensors, Department of Microelectronics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Computers, Informatics and Microelectronics, Technical University of Moldova, 168 Stefan cel Mare str., MD-2004 Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
| | - Helge Krüger
- Department of Materials Science, Chair for Functional Nanomaterials, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Kaiserstraße 2, D-24143 Kiel, Germany
| | - Niklas Wolff
- Department of Materials Science, Chair for Synthesis and Real Structure, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Kaiserstraße 2, D-24143 Kiel, Germany
| | - Alexander Vahl
- Department of Materials Science, Chair for Multicomponent Materials, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Kaiserstraße 2, D-24143 Kiel, Germany
| | - Mani Teja Bodduluri
- Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology (ISIT), Itzehoe, Fraunhoferstraße 1, Itzehoe D-25524, Germany
| | - Niklas Kohlmann
- Department of Materials Science, Chair for Synthesis and Real Structure, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Kaiserstraße 2, D-24143 Kiel, Germany
| | - Lorenz Kienle
- Department of Materials Science, Chair for Synthesis and Real Structure, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Kaiserstraße 2, D-24143 Kiel, Germany
| | - Rainer Adelung
- Department of Materials Science, Chair for Functional Nanomaterials, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Kaiserstraße 2, D-24143 Kiel, Germany
| | - Nora H de Leeuw
- School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
- Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Sandra Hansen
- Department of Materials Science, Chair for Functional Nanomaterials, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Kaiserstraße 2, D-24143 Kiel, Germany
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Ma J, Li Y, Zhou X, Yang X, Alharthi FA, Alghamdi AA, Cheng X, Deng Y. Au Nanoparticles Decorated Mesoporous SiO 2 -WO 3 Hybrid Materials with Improved Pore Connectivity for Ultratrace Ethanol Detection at Low Operating Temperature. Small 2020; 16:e2004772. [PMID: 33107204 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202004772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Semiconducting metal oxides-based gas sensors with the capability to detect trace gases at low operating temperatures are highly desired in applications such as wearable devices, trace pollutant detection, and exhaled breath analysis, but it still remains a great challenge to realize this goal. Herein, a multi-component co-assembly method in combination with pore engineering strategy is proposed. By using bi-functional (3-mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) that can co-hydrolyze with transition metal salt and meanwhile coordinate with gold precursor during their co-assembly with PEO-b-PS copolymers, ordered mesoporous SiO2 -WO3 composites with highly dispersed Au nanoparticles of 5 nm (mesoporous SiO2 -WO3 /Au) are straightforward synthesized. This multi-component co-assembly process avoids the aggregation of Au nanoparticles and pore blocking in conventional post-loading method. Furthermore, through controlled etching treatment, a small portion of silica can be removed from the pore wall, resulting in mesoporous SiO2 -WO3 /Au with increased specific surface area (129 m2 g-1 ), significantly improved pore connectivity, and enlarged pore window (>4.3 nm). Thanks to the presence of well-confined Au nanoparticles and ε-WO3 , the mesoporous SiO2 -WO3 /Au based gas sensors exhibit excellent sensing performance toward ethanol with high sensitivity (Ra /Rg = 2-14 to 50-250 ppb) at low operating temperature (150 °C).
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Affiliation(s)
- Junhao Ma
- Department of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Yanyan Li
- Department of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Xinran Zhou
- Department of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Xuanyu Yang
- Department of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Fahad A Alharthi
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdulaziz A Alghamdi
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Xiaowei Cheng
- Department of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Yonghui Deng
- Department of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
- State Key Lab of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200050, China
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Mukherjee K, Ekuma CE, Zhao Y, Maikap A, Najmaei S, Zaghloul ME. Discrimination of 1- and 2-Propanol by Using the Transient Current Change of a Semiconducting ZnFe 2 O 4 Chemiresistor. Chempluschem 2020; 84:387-391. [PMID: 31939211 DOI: 10.1002/cplu.201900036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Revised: 03/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
A semiconducting metal oxide (SMO) chemiresistor (ZnFe2 O4 ) is used for discriminating two isomeric volatile organic compounds (VOCs), namely 1- and 2-propanol. The transient current of the SMO chemiresistor is correlated with the aerobic oxidation of organic vapors on its surface. The changes in transient current of the ZnFe2 O4 chemiresistor are measured at different temperatures (260-320 °C) for detecting equal concentrations (200 ppm) of the two structural isomers of propanol. The transient current of ZnFe2 O4 reflects a faster oxidation of 2-propanol than 1-propanol on the surface. First-principles calculations and kinetic studies on the interaction of 1- and 2-propanol over ZnFe2 O4 provide further insight in support of the experimental evidence. The calculations predict more spontaneous adsorption of 2-propanol on the (111) surface of ZnFe2 O4 than 1-propanol. Kinetic parameters for the oxidation of isomeric vapors are estimated by modelling the transient current of ZnFe2 O4 using the Langmuir-Hinshelwood reaction mechanism. The faster oxidation of 2-propanol and comparatively lower activation energy for the respective process over ZnFe2 O4 is justified in accordance to the chemical structures of vapors. The findings have strong implications in exploring a new technique for discriminating isomeric VOCs, which is significant for environmental monitoring and medical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalisadhan Mukherjee
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Washington University, 800 22nd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.,Centre for Advanced Materials Processing, CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur-, 713209, India.,Department of Science School of Technology, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Raisan, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382077, India
| | - Chinedu E Ekuma
- U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate, 2800 Powder Mill Road, Adelphi, MD 20783, USA.,Department of Physics, Lehigh University, 16 Memorial Dr East, PA 18015, USA
| | - Yangyang Zhao
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Washington University, 800 22nd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Abhishek Maikap
- Centre for Advanced Materials Processing, CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur-, 713209, India
| | - Sina Najmaei
- U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate, 2800 Powder Mill Road, Adelphi, MD 20783, USA
| | - Mona E Zaghloul
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Washington University, 800 22nd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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El-Bassyouni GT, Eshak MG, Barakat IAH, Khalil WKB. Immunotoxicity evaluation of novel bioactive composites in male mice as promising orthopaedic implants. Cent Eur J Immunol 2017; 42:54-67. [PMID: 28680331 DOI: 10.5114/ceji.2017.67318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Accepted: 09/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective In orthopaedics, novel bioactive composites are largely needed to improve the synthetic achievement of the implants. In this work, semiconducting metal oxides such as SiO2, TiO2, and ZrO2 particles (Ps) were used individually and in different ratios to obtain different biphasic composites. The immunotoxicity of these composites was tested to inspect the potential toxicity prior to their use in further medical applications. Materials and methods In vitro mineralisation ability was inspected by soaking the composites in simulated body fluid (SBF). Additionally, in vivo experiments were performed consuming male mice using ISSR-PCR, micronucleus (MN) test, comet assay, glutathione peroxidase activity, and determination of albumin, globulin, lymphocyte population, ALT, and AST levels. Several groups of adult male albino mice were treated with 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body weight of SiO2, TiO2, and ZrO2-Ps in pure or mixed forms. Results Our findings revealed that treatment of mice with low and medium doses of SiO2, TiO2, and ZrO2-Ps in pure or mixed form revealed values relatively similar to the control group. However, using 400 mg/kg especially from TiO2-Ps in genuine form or mixed with SiO2 showed proliferation in the toxicity rates compared with the high dose of SiO2 and ZrO2-Ps. Conclusions The results suggest that TiO2 composite induced in vivo toxicity, oxidative DNA damage, bargain of the antioxidant enzymes, and variations in the levels of albumin, globulin, lymphocyte population, ALT, and AST in a dose-dependent manner. However, SiO2, and ZrO2 composites revealed a lower toxicity in mice compared with that of TiO2.
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Dai Z, Lee CS, Kim BY, Kwak CH, Yoon JW, Jeong HM, Lee JH. Honeycomb-like periodic porous LaFeO₃ thin film chemiresistors with enhanced gas-sensing performances. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2014; 6:16217-26. [PMID: 25166756 DOI: 10.1021/am504386q] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The use of composite materials and polynary compounds is a promising strategy to promote conductometric sensor performances. The perovskite oxides provide various compositional combinations between different oxides for tuning gas-sensing reaction and endowing rich oxygen deficiencies for preferable gas adsorption. Herein, a sacrificial colloidal template approach is exploited to fabricate crystalline ternary LaFeO3 perovskite porous thin films, by transferring a La(3+)-Fe(3+) hybrid solution-dipped template onto a substrate and sequent heat treatment. The honeycomb-like LaFeO3 film consisted of monolayer periodic pore (size: ∼ 500 nm) array can be successfully in situ synthesized in a homogeneous layout with a single phase of perovskite. This periodic porous LaFeO3 film with p-type semiconductivity exhibits a high gas response, fast response (∼4 s), trace detection capacity (50 ppb), and favorable ethanol selectivity from similar acetone. It exhibits enhanced sensing performances compared to those of a binary n-type Fe2O3 film and a nontemplated dense LaFeO3 film. In addition, a five-axe spiderweb diagram is introduced to make a feasible evaluation of the optimal practical work condition, comprehensively regarding the response/recovery rate, gas response, selectivity and operating temperature. The enhanced ethanol sensing mechanism of honeycomb-like LaFeO3 periodic porous film is also addressed. This novel and facile route to fabricate well-ordered porous LaFeO3 thin film can also be applied to many fields to obtain special performances, such as solar cells, ion conductors, gas separation, piezoelectricity, and self-powered sensing device system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengfei Dai
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University , Seoul 136-713, Republic of Korea
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