Promotional effects of Ag decoration on root-like ZnO microstructures for ethanol sensing

Root-like ZnO microstructureis synthesized using a chemical method, combined with physical deposition of Agnanoparticles. The effect of annealing time on the gas-sensing characteristicswas investigated. The Williamson-Hall analysis was used to study thecrystallite sizes and lattice strain on the root-like Ag/ZnO structure. Theresults revealed that the average of crystallite size increases from 5.3 nm to 63.3nm as the annealing time increases from 1h to 3h at 400 degrees C. The morphological study indicated that when the annealing time increases, the presence of numerous nanowires on the roots improves the conduction between the nanowires' branches and backbones, which intensifies the gas-adsorption phenomena. In comparison with ZnO nanorods, the Ag/ZnO sensor demonstrated an excellent gas-sensing performance toward ethanol, with a maximum response value of 41.1 and a low operating temperature of 75 degrees C. The produced sensors indicated potential applications in the field of environmental air monitoring.

Automated summary

Root-like ZnO microstructures were synthesized using a chemical method with the deposition of Ag nanoparticles. The gas-sensing characteristics were investigated by varying the annealing time. Williamson-Hall analysis revealed that the crystallite size increased from 5.3 nm to 63.3 nm with increasing annealing time. The presence of nanowires on the roots improved conduction and intensified gas-adsorption phenomena, resulting in an excellent gas-sensing performance of the Ag/ZnO sensor towards ethanol.