Development of V2O5@GO (1D/2D) nanohybrid based chemiresistor for low-trace of toluene

A room temperature operated V2O5 nanorods-decorated graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets-nanocomposite based chemiresistor has been fabricated for detecting low-trace of toluene (5-60 ppm). The V2O5 nanorods were grown on GO nanosheets via hydrothermal method. The surface morphological investigation done by SEM and confirmed the decoration of V2O5 nanorods on GO nanosheets. The Rietveld refinement was performed for structural analysis of V2O5 nanorods confirmed the orthorhombic phase structure. At lowest concentration of 5 ppm, the sensor response of V2O5 @GO nanohybrid was 4.90 which was 2.84 and 3.52 times higher than pure GO and V2O5, respectively. The rapid response and recovery time at 5 ppm were observed to be 4.18 s and 5.86 s, respectively. The decoration of V2O5 nanorods on GO nanosheets increased the activated sites and formed p-n heterojunction, resulting in the enhanced sensing performance. The sensor response for the maximum concentration of 60 ppm was 36.25. Also, the V2O5@GO chemiresistor demonstrated high long-term stability and selectivity towards toluene as compared to other interfering volatile organic compounds such as, methanol, ethanol, aniline, formaldehyde, benzene, and acetone. This work opens a novel window for the development of devices that are room temperature operatable, highly sensitive and selective for rapid detection of toluene gas for its commercialization.

Automated summary

A room temperature operated V2O5 nanorods-decorated graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets-nanocomposite chemiresistor has been developed for detecting low-trace of toluene. The sensor shows high response and rapid response and recovery time, as well as good selectivity and stability.