Fabrication of SnO2 nanotube microyarn and its gas sensing behavior

Continuously aligned and assembled forms of nanomaterials (e. g., carbon nanotube yarns) have been recognized as an effective means of realizing the marvelous properties of individual nanomaterial in the macro/microscale. Many efforts have been made to develop metal oxide nanotubes, however, few researches have been dedicated to fabricating their microyarns. In this study, we report a fabrication method for SnO2 nanotube microyarns and their potential applications. The aligned polyacrylonitrile nanofibers were first prepared using electrospinning and they were twisted into a microyarn. SnO2 was then coated onto the nanofibers in the yarn by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Finally the microyarn consisting of the coated nanofibers was calcined, resulting in a SnO2 nanotube microyarn. The average diameter of the obtained SnO2 nanotubes in the microyarn was around 500 nm, and their wall thickness was approximately 70 nm when 1000 cycles of the ALD process were applied. The lattice fringes in the high resolution transmission electron microscope image and selected area electron diffraction pattern revealed that the nanotubes were polycrystalline SnO2 with a rutile structure. The SnO2 nanotube microyarn fabricated in this study has the potential to be applied for the development of a multiple-celled gas sensor, which has been confirmed by carrying out H-2 gas sensing at 400 degrees C using a one-celled sensor. The results showed the stable and reversible gas sensing of the nanotube yarn, demonstrating that the nanotube yarns can be incorporated into a multiple-celled sensor due to their handling convenience, stable structure, and gas sensing performance.