Enhanced acetone gas-sensing performance of La2O3-doped flowerlike ZnO structure composed of nanorods

Flowerlike ZnO nanostructures composed of nanorods were synthesized by co-precipitation method using Zn(NO3)(2)center dot 6H(2)O and (CH2)(6)N-4 as reactants, polyethylene glycol 400 as surfactant. La2O3 was dispersed onto the obtained ZnO with a content of 0.5-2.0 wt% to enhance the gas-sensing property. Gas-sensing results of the La2O3-doped ZnO to ethanol, acetone, ammonia and formaldehyde, respectively, reveal that response of La2O3-doped ZnO to a specified test gas is higher than that of no La2O3-doped. Response of 1.0 wt% La2O3-doped ZnO to 200 ppm acetone reaches 54.1 at the working temperature of 350 degrees C, and the response time is only 8 s, implying the potential for detection of low gas concentration. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.