Zn2SnO4-doped SnO2 hollow spheres for phenylamine gas sensor application

In this paper, Zn2SnO4-doped SnO2 hollow spheres (HSs) were successfully synthesized by a one-step facile hydrothermal strategy without using any surfactants. In order to investigate the morphology, crystalline property and chemical composition of the prepared Zn2SnO4-doped SnO2 HSs, a sequence of techniques inclusive of scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were performed. The sensor based on the as-fabricated Zn2SnO4-doped SnO2 HSs exhibited an excellent gas-sensing performance to phenylamine, including good selectivity and good reproducibility as well as reinforced response compared with the pristine SnO2 sample. Such enhanced gas-sensing performances are probably ascribed to the unique porous HS morphology, the strong interfacial interaction between Zn2SnO4 and SnO2 and the existence of hetero-junctions. The as-fabricated Zn2SnO4-doped Sno(2) HSs may also lead to potential applications in other fields such as lithium-ion batteries, catalysis and dye-sensitized solar cells. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.