Soft-lithographically line-patterned In-doped ZnO quantum dots with hydrothermally grown ZnO nanocolumns for acetone detection

Jun Ho Lee, Seung Eun Baek, Hyun Sook Lee, Dahl Young Khang, Wooyoung Lee

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4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We introduced a new approach to enhance the sensing performance of sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors. We synthesized In-doped ZnO quantum dots (IZO QDs) by a hydrothermal method and fabricated line-patterned IZO QD layers with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molds. Additional hydrothermal growth was conducted to create ZnO nanocolumns (NCs) on the patterned surfaces. Thus, drop-cast and line-patterned sensors and line-patterned samples with NCs grown for 0.5 h (NC(0.5 h)/Line) and 4 h (NC(4 h)/Line) were prepared. Among these four different sensors, the NC(0.5 h)/Line sensor exhibited an excellent response of 26,000 with fast response times of less than 1 s to 10 ppm of acetone. In addition, the detection limit was approximately 0.1 ppm of acetone, and the resistance was almost constant even after repeatability tests. According to UV–vis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analyses, the extraordinary sensing characteristics of NC(0.5 h)/Line were mainly because this sensor had the largest optical band energy and the highest ratio of oxygen vacancies among the tested sensors. On the other hand, the NC(4 h)/Line sensor showed the lowest response of the four sensors. During the long-term growth of NCs, [sbnd]OH groups are produced on the surface of the material, and Zn(OH)2 NCs are formed instead of ZnO NCs, resulting in a large decrease in the carrier concentration and active sites. In conclusion, we developed highly sensitive acetone sensors by constructing special morphologies.

Original languageEnglish
Article number129131
JournalSensors and Actuators, B: Chemical
Volume329
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021 Feb 15

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program ( 2017M3A9F1052297 ) and the Priority Research Centers Program ( 2019R1A6A1A11055660 ) funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). This research was also supported by the Medium and Large Complex Technology Commercialization Project ( 2019K000045 ) of the Commercialization Promotion Agency for R&D Outcomes (COMPA) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) .

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program (2017M3A9F1052297) and the Priority Research Centers Program (2019R1A6A1A11055660) funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). This research was also supported by the Medium and Large Complex Technology Commercialization Project (2019K000045) of the Commercialization Promotion Agency for R&D Outcomes (COMPA) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Instrumentation
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Metals and Alloys
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Materials Chemistry

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