Parallel-solution blow spun Al-SnO2/F-SnO2 fibers as an efficient room temperature ethanol sensor

In the last few years, the design of room-temperature gas sensors is in growing demand. This is because high operating temperatures increase power consumption and impose unnecessary risks when working with flammable gases. This article describes the parallel-spinning fabrication of Al-SnO2/F-SnO2 hybrid fibers using the Solution Blow Spinning (SBS) method for room-temperature ethanol sensing application. The structural influence of element doping and the chemical composition/elemental states were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The 5 at% Al-SnO2/15 at% F-SnO2 composite based sensor exhibited high sensitivity to ethanol (R = 3.0 at 100 ppm) at room temperature. This sensor also showed short response/recovery times, excellent selectivity, repeatability and long-term stability. More importantly, the sensor based on Al-SnO2/F-SnO2 composite displayed a sensing response 9 times higher than pure SnO2 fibers. These results indicate that the Al-SnO2/F-SnO2 fibers prepared in this work are promising and excellent room temperature sensing materials.

Automated summary

This study utilizes the Solution Blow Spinning method to fabricate Al-SnO2/F-SnO2 hybrid fibers and applies them to room-temperature ethanol sensing. The results show that the composite material exhibits high sensitivity, short response/recovery times, and good selectivity and stability. The sensing response of the composite material is 9 times higher than pure SnO2 fibers, indicating its great potential.