The 1,2-propanediol-sensing properties of one-dimension Tb2O3-modified ZnO nanowires synthesized by water-glycerol binary thermal route

One-dimension Tb2O3-modified ZnO nanowires were synthesized via water-glycerol binary thermal route. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns demonstrated that the Tb2O3-modified ZnO was pure phase with high crystallinity. The Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the chemical compositions of Tb2O3-modified ZnO. The images of field-emission electron microscopy (FESEM) indicated that the Tb2O3-modified ZnO was one-dimension nanowires with a diameter of -40-100 nm. N-2 adsorption/desorption measurements and BET analysis were used to revealed the specific surface area and pore size of Tb2O3-modified ZnO. The images of Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) further showed that the highly uniform heterojunctions had been successfully obtained. The sensitivity and response/recovery time of 3 at% Tb2O3-modified ZnO tested at 200 degrees C were -123 and 73s/50s to 50 ppm 1,2-propanediol, respectively. In addition, the detection limit was as low as 1 ppm. Under UV irradiation, the sensitivity was further improved to 152 while the response/recovery time was shortened to 67s/23s. The morphology of one-dimension Tb2O3-modified ZnO nanowires, the increase of oxygen-deficient region in ZnO and the formation of p-n heterojunction enhanced the properties of 1,2-propanediol-sensing synergistically. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, one-dimensional Tb2O3-modified ZnO nanowires were synthesized via a water-glycerol binary thermal route. Various characterization techniques confirmed the high crystallinity, pure phase, and specific properties of the Tb2O3-modified ZnO, such as sensitivity, response/recovery time, and detection limit. The formation of highly uniform heterojunctions further enhanced the sensor properties synergistically.