Highly sensitive formaldehyde resistive sensor based on a single Er-doped SnO2 nanobelt

SnO2 nanobelts (SnO2 NBs) and Era(3+)-doped SnO2 nanobelts (Er-SnO2 NBs) were synthesized by thermal evaporation. The obtained samples were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersion spectrometer (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). It is found that Er-SnO2 NBs have a good morphology with smooth surface and their thickness are about 30 nm, widths between 200 nm and 600 nm, and lengths 30-80 mm. The nanobelts with good morphology were taken to develop sensors based on a single Er-SnO2 NB/SnO2 NB for studying sensitive properties. The results reveal that the response of a single Er-SnO2 nanobelt device is 9 to the formaldehyde gas with a shorter response (recovery time) of 17 (25) s. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.