NOx Gas Sensing Properties of Fe-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles

Herein, NOx, i.e., nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), gas sensors were fabricated using iron (Fe)-doped ZnO nanoparticles prepared via the facile hydrothermal process. The synthesized Fe-doped ZnO nanoparticles were analyzed through several techniques that revealed the well-crystallinity and dense growth of nanoparticles with the typical diameters of 25 +/- 5 nm. The synthesized nanoparticles were utilized as a prospective material for the fabrication of NOx gas sensors operating at different temperatures, i.e., 350 degrees C, 400 degrees C, and 450 degrees C. The detailed sensing performances revealed that the optimum and most suitable sensing temperature for the fabricated sensors is 400 degrees C. In presence of 10 ppm NO gas, the fabricated sensor exhibited the highest gas response of 1.35 with a response (t(response)) and recovery (t(recovery)) time of 44 s and 402 s, respectively. Similarly, the fabricated NO2 gas sensor, in presence of 10 ppm gas shows the highest gas response of 1.33 with a response and recovery times of 50 s and 281 s, respectively. The presented results demonstrate that Fe-doped ZnO nanomaterials are capable to fabricate efficient NOx gas sensors.