Role of thermal and UV activation on microwave treated NiO nanoparticles for VOC sensing

Measuring exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOC) in human breath is a promising method for diagnosing diseases. Acetone is a VOC that can be found in human breath. Diabetes is indicated by acetone levels in human breath that are higher than 1.8 ppm. In this work, an analysis was done to improve the dynamics of the acetone sensors based on nickel oxide nanoparticles. Temperature and UV activation of pressure-controlled microwave treated nanoparticles are investigated. The sensitivity of the NiO sensor towards acetone under UV irradiation and thermal activation was analyzed. It was found that the responsiveness and selectivity of the suggested gas sensor could be greatly improved by combining both temperature and UV activation. When activated by UV light, the sensor's working temperature dropped to 180 degrees C. Furthermore, the gas sensor activated with both UV and temperature showed better selectivity and repeatability to acetone.

Automated summary

Measuring exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOC) in human breath is a promising method for diagnosing diseases. Acetone, a VOC found in human breath, can indicate diabetes when its levels are higher than 1.8 ppm. This study investigates the dynamics of acetone sensors based on nickel oxide nanoparticles, analyzing the effects of temperature and UV activation. The results show that combining temperature and UV activation greatly improves the responsiveness and selectivity of the gas sensor for acetone.