Fabrication of ZnO nanoparticles based sensitive methanol sensor and efficient photocatalyst

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 258; no. 19; pp. 7515 - 7522
• Main Authors: Faisal, M., Khan, Sher Bahadar, Rahman, Mohammed M., Jamal, Aslam, Abdullah, M.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.07.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Degradation; Exact sciences and technology; Field emission; Hydrothermal synthesis; Methanol chemical sensor; Methyl alcohol; Methylene Blue; Nanoparticles; Nanostructure; Photocatalysis; Photocatalyst; Physics; Titanium dioxide; Zinc oxide; ZnO nanoparticles; Methanol chemical sensor; Methylene Blue; Hydrothermal synthesis; ZnO nanoparticles; Photocatalyst; Chemical sensors; Inorganic compounds; Measurement sensor; Transition element compounds; Nanoparticles; Zinc oxide; Organic compounds; Methanol
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2012.04.075

. [Display omitted] ► Newly synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles at low temperature by hydrothermal method. ► First report on methanol sensing using ZnO nanoparticles utilizing reliable I–V technique. ► Highly efficient photocatalyst for the removal of organic pollutants. ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by hydrothermal treatment with starting materials (zinc chloride and urea) in the presence of ammonium hydroxide and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy and UV–vis spectroscopy. The synthesized nanoparticles are crystalline with wurtzite hexagonal phase having average particle size in the range of 80–130nm. Photocatalytic activity of the prepared ZnO NPs was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue and almost complete degradation (91.0%) takes place within 85min of irradiation time. Prepared ZnO nanostructures possessed high photocatalytic activity when compared with TiO2-UV100. Additionally, the sensing properties of the ZnO films were investigated for various concentrations of methanol in liquid phase by simple I–V technique at room conditions. It was observed that ZnO thin film exhibits good sensitivity (0.9554μAcm−2mM−1) towards detection of methanol at room conditions.