UV Light Activation of TiO2-Doped SnO2 Thick Film for Sensing Ethanol at Room Temperature

TiO2-doped SnO2 nanopowcler is synthesized via a sol-gel method and characterized by atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Using this nanopowder, we have fabricated a novel semiconductor gas sensor that is sensitive to UV light illumination. We find that gas-sensing properties of TiO2-doped SnO2 sensor can be enhanced significantly under the exposure of UV light. The sensor exhibits a high sensitivity of 25 and rapid response-recovery times of 8s and 24s, respectively, under an ethanol gas of up to 100 ppm at room temperature (323 K). This suggests the possibility of development of a gas sensor for detecting ethanol at room temperature. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MC200904]