Ammonia sensing characteristic of a Pt nanoparticle/aluminum-doped zinc oxide sensor

Pt nanoparticles (NPs) are deposited on a sputtered aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) layer to form a new Pt NP/AZO ammonia sensor. As compared to the pristine sputtered AZO layer, the studied Pt NP/AZO device shows significant improvements in the ammonia sensing response and sensing speed due to the effectively catalytic activity of the Pt metal. Experimentally, under 1000 ppm NH3/air gas at 300 degrees C, a sensing response of 2183 is obtained for the studied Pt NP/AZO device, which is higher than that (24) of the pristine AZO one. The response and recovery time constants at 300 degrees C (350 degrees C) of 133 (24) s and 14 (4) s are acquired, respectively, for the studied Pt NP/AZO sensor under 1000 ppm NH3/air gas. Therefore, based on the advantages mentioned above and the benefits of low cost, simple structure, and easy fabrication, the studied Pt NP/AZO structure is suitable to produce high-performance metal-oxide-based ammonia sensors. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.