Studies on acetone sensing characteristics of ZnO thin film prepared by sol-gel dip coating

Acetone sensing characteristics of Zinc Oxide thin films prepared by dip coating method are discussed in this paper. The sol for dip coating was synthesized using Zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn (NO3)(2 center dot) 6H(2)O) and organic polymer sodium carboxy methyl cellulose (Na-CMC) as a starting material. Crystallinity and crystallite size of the prepared thin film was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Morphology was studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The gas sensing characteristics was studied using chemiresistive method, by exposing the film to various concentrations of acetone at room temperature. Further, for comparative study ethanol and acetaldehyde has also been tested. Gas sensing parameters such us response, selectivity, lowest detection limit, response/recovery time of the thin film towards acetone were also reported. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.