Sensors based on SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> + In<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> composite films for detecting CO in air

The sensor properties of nanostructured films of SnO₂, In₂O₃, and their combinations for detecting CO in air in the temperature range of 330–520°C were investigated. It was found that SnO₂ films show the least sensitivity to CO. Sensitivity grows as the concentration of In₂O₃ in SnO₂ increases, and it reaches its maximum value in pure In₂O₃. At the same time, the maximum of sensitivity to CO in air shifts towards low temperatures. Sensor response time was found to be about 1 s for the studied SnO₂ and In₂O₃ films, and about 0.5 s for the composite film. The mechanism of sensor sensitivity for the studied metal oxide films in detecting CO in air is discussed.     

The sensor properties of SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> · In<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanocomposite oxides in the detection of hydrogen in air

The sensor properties of In₂O₃ · SnO₂ polycrystalline films having different compositions were studied in the detection of 2% hydrogen in air over the temperature range 330–530°C. Films containing 19% In₂O₃ were most sensitive to hydrogen. The temperature dependence of the sensitivity of sensors passed a maximum, the position of which depended on the composition of the film. The temperature at which sensor sensitivity was maximum decreased as the content of indium oxide increased. This temperature was 485°C for the SnO₂ film and 425°C for the In₂O₃ film. The response and relaxation times of sensors also decreased as the amount of In₂O₃ in the composite metal oxide film increased. Possible mechanisms of the sensor sensitivity of the films are discussed.     

Sensor properties of the nanostructured In2O3-CeO2 system in detection of reducing gases

The sensor properties of nanostructured In₂O₃-CeO₂ composite films with different compositions in hydrogen and carbon monoxide detection in air in the temperature range 280–500°C were studied. The temperature curves of the sensor effect S have a shape typical for metal oxide sensors with maxima S _max at definite temperatures Tmax. The maxima characterize the sensor properties of the films and increased considerably when small amounts of CeO₂ were added to In₂O₃. The highest sensitivity was found in composite films with 3–10 wt % CeO₂. When the composite was further enriched with ceric oxide, the sensitivity decreased; at 40 wt % CeO₂ it was considerably lower than that of pure In₂O₃. The introduction of CeO₂ in In₂O₃ also caused a shift of Tmax toward lower temperatures. The mechanism of the sensitivity of the In₂O₃-CeO₂ composite was considered; it includes the promotion of sensor reactions by small CeO₂ nanoclusters lying on the surface of In₂O₃ crystals and an electron transfer from In₂O₃ to CeO₂.     

Gas Sensing Properties of In2O3and Au-doped In2O3Films for Detecting Carbon Monoxide in Air

Catalytic and sensing properties of several metal oxides in the reaction of CO oxidation and in the sensor detection of CO in air have been studied and compared to each other. Indium oxide has been found to be the most sensitive and possessing a relatively low catalytic activity in the oxidation of CO. Possible reasons for the high activity of the indium oxide sensor matrix are discussed. The promoting effect of Au and Pd doping of In₂O₃in the detection of CO in air has been studied, and a mechanism explaining the enhanced sensor response of Au-doped In₂O₃has been proposed. A change in humidity has no significant effect on the sensor response of Au-doped In₂O₃in the detection of CO in air.     

Gas-Sensing Properties of Doped In2O3 Films as Sensors for NO2 in Air

A number of sensing systems based on indium oxide doped with various metal oxides (In₂O₃ · WO₃, In₂O₃ · ZnO, In₂O₃ · RuO₂, In₂O₃ · Gd₂O₃, and In₂O₃ · Sm₂O₃) in amounts of no more than 3–5 mol % and also Au · In₂O₃ films were studied as sensors for detecting NO₂ in air. The working temperature of sensors was 250°C (except for In₂O₃ · RuO₂, for which T = 150–190°C). In₂O₃ · WO₃-based sensors reach a high sensitivity especially at a concentration of NO₂ in air higher than 10 ppm (the relative sensor conductivity changes by 2.5 orders of magnitude). However, a shortcoming of this system is an increased response time (7–9 min) as compared to the other studied systems, for which the response time does not exceed 15–20 s. In₂O₃ · Gd₂O₃ and In₂O₃ · Sm₂O₃ films exhibit the best sensing properties in sensitivity, selectivity, and stability. Various NO₂ species adsorbed on the surface of dispersed indium oxide were detected by Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy. The mechanism of changing the conductivity of In₂O₃ · Gd₂O₃ films upon detecting NO₂ in air is discussed.     

Determination of low chlorine concentrations in air using semiconductor chemical sensors

Comparative studies of electophysical gas-sensitive properties of semiconductor metal oxides (NiO, WO₃, and In₂O₃) in detecting trace concentrations of chlorine in air at 250–300°C were performed. WO₃ and In₂O₃ film sensors were found to have the best sensitivity, selectivity, and stability. However, WO₃ films are characterized by a longer relaxation time (3 min) compared to In₂O₃ films, for which it is no longer than 30 s. The kinetic and steady-state relative conductivity values of In₂O₃ films as functions of the chlorine concentration in air fall on the same curve in the range 0.01–0.7 ppm. This suggests that the concentration of chlorine in air can be determined from the initial rates of the variation of the relative conductivity of films, which significantly decreases the time of analysis (from 40 to 5 s at a sensor working temperature of 300°C). Changes in air humidity in the range from 40 to 80% have no effect on the initial rates of the variation of the relative conductivity of In₂O₃ films under kinetic conditions. The mechanism of the variation of In₂O₃ film conductivity in detecting chlorine in air was discussed.     

Sensory properties of oxide films with high concentrations of conduction electrons

The dependence of a sensor’s response to hydrogen on the temperature and hydrogen pressure in an indium oxide nanostructured film is measured. A theory of sensor’s response to reducing gases in nanostructured semiconducting oxides with high concentrations of electrons in the conduction band is developed (using the example of In₂O₃). It is shown that the capture of conduction electrons by adsorbed oxygen redistributes the electrons in nanoparticles and reduces the surface electron density and the conductivity of a system; the conductivity is proportional to the electron density in nanoparticle contacts, i.e., to the surface electron density. It is found that atomic oxygen ions react with reducing gases (H₂, CO) during adsorption of the latter: electrons are released and enter the volumes of nanoparticles; the conductivity of the system grows, creating the sensory effect. Using a model developed earlier to describe the distribution of conduction electrons in a semiconductor nanoparticle, a kinetic scheme corresponding to the above scenario is built and corresponding equations are solved. As a result, a theoretical dependence of a sensor’s sensitivity to temperature is found that describes the experimental data well.

     

Gas-sensitivity properties of nanoscale Au-In<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> materials

A possibility was demonstrated of producing the chemical sensors based on Au-In₂O₃ obtained using a sol-gel technology. The sensors exhibit high sensitivity and selectivity toward CO. The differences in gas-sensitivity properties of In₂O₃ sensor with respect to CO and CH₄ at different ways of doping with Au(III) was examined. The effect of the gold nanoparticles size and the state of the indium oxide surface on the characteristics of Au-In₂O₃ and Au/In₂O₃ sensors at the detection of CO and CH₄ was examined.     

Enhanced photocatalytic activities of ZnO thin films: a comparative study of hybrid semiconductor nanomaterials

Nanostructure single ZnO, SnO₂, In₂O₃ and composite ZnO/SnO₂, ZnO/In₂O₃ and ZnO/SnO₂/In₂O₃ films were prepared using sol?Cgel method. The obtained composite films were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV?CVis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of composite films were investigated using phenol (P), 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) and 4-aminophenol (4-AP) as a model organic compounds under UV light irradiation. Hybrid semiconductor thin films showed a higher photocatalytic activity than single component ZnO, SnO₂ and In₂O₃ films. The substituted phenols degrade faster than phenol. The ease of degradation of phenols is different for each catalyst and the order of catalytic efficiency is also different for each phenol. The use of multiple components offered a higher control of their properties by varying the composition of the materials and related parameters such as morphology and interface. It was also found that the photocatalytic degradation of phenolic compounds on the composite films and single films followed pseudo-first order kinetics.     

ZnO/In2O3复合空心球的制备及其光电催化葡萄糖降解性能

通过葡萄糖协助的水热以及随后的退火处理两步法成功制备了系列ZnO/In₂O₃复合空心球. X射线衍射谱(XRD)表明, 经500 ℃退火制得的ZnO/In₂O₃复合空心球中ZnO以非晶态存在, 但是随着退火温度的提高, 其逐渐转变为纤锌矿结构. 场发射扫描电子显微镜(FE-SEM)和透射显微镜(TEM)结果表明, ZnO/In₂O₃复合材料具有空心球结构, 复合纳米颗粒之间结合紧密. 将ZnO/In₂O₃复合空心球组装成薄膜光电极, 研究了其光电催化降解葡萄糖的性能. 结果表明, 700 ℃退火处理的ZnO/In₂O₃复合空心球薄膜电极可产生最高的光致电流密度. 通过光致发光光谱(PL)发现, 与ZnO或In₂O₃空心球相比, ZnO/In₂O₃复合空心球的发光强度猝灭效果明显. 这是由于复合材料中晶界处产生的p-n结电场, 降低了光生电子-空穴对的复合几率, 从而使更多的光生电子可迁移到电极表面.     

Detection of liquid petroleum gas using mixed nanosized tungsten oxide-based thick-film semiconductor sensor

The thick-film semiconductor sensor for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) detection was fabricated using a mixed WO₃-based sensor. We present the characterization of both their structural properties by means of XRD measurements and the electrical characteristics by using gas-sensing properties. The sensing characteristics such as sensitivity, working range, cross-sensitivity and response time were studied by using nanosized WO₃-based mixed with different metal oxides (SnO₂, TiO₂ and In₂O₃) and doped with noble metals (Au, Pd and Pt). The WO₃-based mixed with 5 wt.% In₂O₃ and 0.5 wt.% Pd showed the higher sensing characteristic at low concentration of LPG sensor at an operating temperature 225 °C.     

The sensor properties of Fe2O3 · In2O3 films: The detection of low ozone concentrations in air

The detection of low ozone concentrations in air (no higher than 120 ppb) using semiconducting films based on Fe₂O₃ · In₂O₃ obtained by laser ablation of the corresponding targets onto alumina substrates was studied. The temperature of the substrate during film deposition influenced their sensor properties. Temperature effects on the sensitivity of the films with respect to ozone were studied over the temperature range 200–380°C. Maximum sensitivity was reached at 250°C irrespective of the temperature of film deposition. The dependence of film sensitivity on the concentration of ozone in air was determined. At equal ratios between In₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃, the sensitivity of the sensor films prepared by laser ablation was much higher than that of thick-film sensors obtained from aqueous metal oxide suspensions by the stenciling technique. Possible reasons for the effects observed were considered.     

Enhanced CO sensing properties of Pd modified ZnO porous nanosheets

Noble metal is usually used to improve the gas sensing performance of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) due to its better catalytic properties. In this work, we reported a synthesis of Pd/ZnO nanocomposite by an in situ reduction with ascorbic acid (AA). It was found that Pd/ZnO sensor has excellent selectivity to CO and the response of the Pd/ZnO sensor towards 100 ppm CO was as high as 15 (R_a/R_g), obviously higher than that of the pristine ZnO sensor (1.4) when the working temperature is 220 °C. Moreover, the pure ZnO sensor almost has no selectivity to CO, but the Pd/ZnO sensor has excellent selectivity to CO, which may be ascribed to the electronic sensitization of Pd. Our present results demonstrate that the Pd can significantly improve the gas-sensing performance of metal oxide semiconductor and the obtained sensor has great potential in monitoring coal mine gas.     

Selective catalytic reduction of NO over metal oxide or noble metal-doped In2O3/Al2O3 catalysts by propene in the presence of oxygen

The activities of metal oxide CuO, SnO₂, CoO, Ag₂O, ZnO or noble metal Pt, Pd, Rh-doped In₂O₃/Al₂O₃ catalysts for selective catalytic reduction of NO by propene were investigated. The temperature windows for NO reduction over noble metal-doped In₂O₃/Al₂O₃ catalysts were shifted and broaden slightly compared with single component catalyst alone. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

In2O3敏化ZnO纳米棒阵列的性能及其光电催化活性

以掺氟SnO₂ (FTO)导电玻璃为基底, 采用水热法制备了ZnO纳米棒阵列. 通过In(NO₃)₃水溶液水洗的方法, 合成了In₂O₃敏化ZnO纳米棒阵列光催化剂. 采用场发射扫描电子显微镜(FESEM), X射线能谱(EDX), X射线衍射(XRD)及紫外-可见漫反射光谱(UV-Vis DRS)对样品的形貌、结构、组成、晶相等进行一系列的表征. 以罗丹明B (RhB)为目标降解物, 探究了In₂O₃敏化ZnO 纳米棒阵列光电催化活性. 采用场诱导表面光伏技术(FISPV)研究了不同含量的In₂O₃敏化ZnO纳米棒阵列在光照射下的光生电荷行为. 结合电化学工作站检测不同样品的光电流, 随着In₂O₃敏化量的改变, 光电流和开路电压也随之改变. 并探讨了In₂O₃敏化ZnO纳米棒阵列光生电荷行为与光电催化活性之间的关系. 结果表明, 适量In₂O₃敏化的ZnO光催化剂在可见光下2 h内对罗丹明B的降解效率达到95%, 是单纯ZnO纳米棒阵列的2.4倍.     

溶胶-凝胶法制备In-Cd纳米复合氧化物及其气敏性能研究

采用溶胶凝胶法制备了In20rCdln2O4和CdO-Cdln2O4纳米复合氧化物,利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和X射线衍射仪(XRD)对复合材料的形貌和结构进行表征,并对其进行了乙醇、丙酮等多种气体的气敏性能测试.结果表明Cdln2O4材料复合h12O3和CdO后显著提高了对丙酮和乙醇气体的灵敏度和选择性.     

Template synthesis of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO)/polymer and the corresponding carbon composite hollow colloids

SnO₂, In₂O₃, and Sn-doped In₂O₃ (ITO)/polymer and the corresponding carbon composite hollow colloids are template synthesized. It is essential that the sulfonated gel shell of the cross-linked polystyrene hollow colloid can favorably induce adsorption of target precursors. After being calcined in air to remove the template, SnO₂, In₂O₃, and ITO hollow colloids are obtained. Because the cross-linked polymer gel can be transformed into carbon in nitrogen at higher temperature such as 800 °C, metal oxide/carbon hollow colloids are consequently derived, whose shells are mesoporous. The SnO₂-, In₂O₃-, and ITO-containing polymer or carbon composite hollow colloids will be promising in sensors, catalysts, and fuel cells as electrode materials. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Investigating the sensor response of ceria-containing binary metal oxide nanocomposites

The hydrogen sensing performance of ceria-containing nanocrystalline indium and tin oxides is investigated for different concentrations of added ceria. The sensor response of nanocrytsalline In₂O₃ is considerably enhanced at low CeO₂ concentrations. In contrast, low levels of CeO₂ cause a substantial drop in the sensor response of SnO₂-based composite; at a 3 wt % level of added ceria, its hydrogen sensing ability is almost entirely suppressed. Possible causes of these effects are investigated via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction. XPS data show that additions of CeO₂ have different effects on the structure of the base oxides (In₂O₃ and SnO₂), with implications for the hydrogen sensing performance of the composites.

     

Multi-component catalysts with spinel structure for the selective reduction of nitrogen oxide by ethylene in lean-exhaust gas streams

The Ga₂O₃-Al₂O₃-ZnO (GAZ) multi-component spinel powders with incorporated Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, Fe²⁺, Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺ and In²⁺ metal cations were synthesized by co-precipitation method from a mixed solution of nitrate salts. Spinel crystal structure of each composition was confirmed by XRD measurements. The multi-component oxide powders were tested in the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NO) under lean conditions. Among the catalysts tested, In₂O₃-containing GAZ with a pure spinel phase structure showed promising catalytic activity in the NO reduction in the presence of 10% H₂O vapor. In addition, the effect of H₂O vapor and SO₂ on the selective reduction of NO over In₂O₃-GAZ/cordierite and In₂O₃-GAZ/metal honeycombs catalysts has been investigated.     

Detection of nitrogen dioxide using mixed tungsten oxide-based thick film semiconductor sensor

The thick film semiconductor sensor for NO₂ gas detection was fabricated by screen-printing method using a mixed WO₃-based as sensing material. The sensing characteristics, such as response time, response linearity, sensitivity, working range, cross sensitivity, and long-term stability were further studied by using a WO₃-based mixed with different metal oxides (SnO₂, TiO₂ and In₂O₃) and doped with noble metals (Au, Pd and Pt) as sensing materials was observed. The highest sensitivity for low concentrations (<16 mg l⁻¹) was observed using WO₃-based mixed with In₂O₃ or TiO₂. The NO₂ gas sensor showing the fastest response and recovery time (both within 2 min), good linearity (Y=0.606X+0.788 R²=0.991) for gas concentrations from 3 to 310 mg l⁻¹, low resistance (3 MΩ), high sensitivity, undesirable cross sensitivity effect and good long-term stability (at least 120 days) using WO₃-SnO₂-Au as sensing material.