Design of high-sensitivity La-doped ZnO sensors for CO2 gas detection at room temperature
Abstract For the sake of people's health and the safety of the environment, more efforts should be directed towards the fabrication of gas sensors that can operate effectively at room temperature (RT). In this context, increased attention has been paid to developing gas sensors based on rare-ea...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45196-y |
| _version_ | 1797647352890130432 |
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| author | Khaled Abdelkarem Rana Saad Adel M. El Sayed M. I. Fathy Mohamed Shaban Hany Hamdy |
| author_facet | Khaled Abdelkarem Rana Saad Adel M. El Sayed M. I. Fathy Mohamed Shaban Hany Hamdy |
| author_sort | Khaled Abdelkarem |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract For the sake of people's health and the safety of the environment, more efforts should be directed towards the fabrication of gas sensors that can operate effectively at room temperature (RT). In this context, increased attention has been paid to developing gas sensors based on rare-earth (RE)-doped transparent conducting oxides (TCO). In this report, lanthanum-doped zinc oxide (La-doped ZnO) films were fabricated by sol–gel and spin-coating techniques. XRD analysis revealed the hexagonal structure of the ZnO films, with preferred growth along the (002) direction. The crystallite size was decreased from 33.21 to 26.41 nm with increasing La content to 4.0 at.%. The UV–vis–NIR indicating that the films are highly transparent (˃ 80%), La-doping increased the UV blocking ability of the films and narrowed the optical band gap (Eg) from 3.275 to 3.125 eV. Additionally, La-doping has influenced the refractive index of the samples. Gas sensing measurements were performed at ambient temperature (30 °C) and a relative humidity (RH) of 30%, employing different flow rates of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas used synthetically with air. Among the evaluated sensors, the ZnO: 4.0 at.% La sensor exhibited the most significant gas response, with a value of 114.22%. This response was observed when the sensor was subjected to a flow rate of 200 SCCM of CO2 gas. Additionally, the sensor revealed a response time of 24.4 s and a recovery time of 44 s. The exceptional performance exhibited by the sensor makes it very appropriate for a wide range of industrial applications. Additionally, we assessed the effect of humidity, selectivity, reusability, repeatability, detection limit, and limit of quantification. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:15:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ae252048d1f64ca9829569be041d3b3c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:15:04Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-ae252048d1f64ca9829569be041d3b3c2023-10-29T12:20:09ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-10-0113111310.1038/s41598-023-45196-yDesign of high-sensitivity La-doped ZnO sensors for CO2 gas detection at room temperatureKhaled Abdelkarem0Rana Saad1Adel M. El Sayed2M. I. Fathy3Mohamed Shaban4Hany Hamdy5Nanophotonics and Applications (NPA) Lab, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef UniversityNanophotonics and Applications (NPA) Lab, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef UniversityPhysics Department, Faculty of Science, Fayoum UniversityNanophotonics and Applications (NPA) Lab, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef UniversityDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of MadinahNanophotonics and Applications (NPA) Lab, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef UniversityAbstract For the sake of people's health and the safety of the environment, more efforts should be directed towards the fabrication of gas sensors that can operate effectively at room temperature (RT). In this context, increased attention has been paid to developing gas sensors based on rare-earth (RE)-doped transparent conducting oxides (TCO). In this report, lanthanum-doped zinc oxide (La-doped ZnO) films were fabricated by sol–gel and spin-coating techniques. XRD analysis revealed the hexagonal structure of the ZnO films, with preferred growth along the (002) direction. The crystallite size was decreased from 33.21 to 26.41 nm with increasing La content to 4.0 at.%. The UV–vis–NIR indicating that the films are highly transparent (˃ 80%), La-doping increased the UV blocking ability of the films and narrowed the optical band gap (Eg) from 3.275 to 3.125 eV. Additionally, La-doping has influenced the refractive index of the samples. Gas sensing measurements were performed at ambient temperature (30 °C) and a relative humidity (RH) of 30%, employing different flow rates of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas used synthetically with air. Among the evaluated sensors, the ZnO: 4.0 at.% La sensor exhibited the most significant gas response, with a value of 114.22%. This response was observed when the sensor was subjected to a flow rate of 200 SCCM of CO2 gas. Additionally, the sensor revealed a response time of 24.4 s and a recovery time of 44 s. The exceptional performance exhibited by the sensor makes it very appropriate for a wide range of industrial applications. Additionally, we assessed the effect of humidity, selectivity, reusability, repeatability, detection limit, and limit of quantification.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45196-y |
| spellingShingle | Khaled Abdelkarem Rana Saad Adel M. El Sayed M. I. Fathy Mohamed Shaban Hany Hamdy Design of high-sensitivity La-doped ZnO sensors for CO2 gas detection at room temperature Scientific Reports |
| title | Design of high-sensitivity La-doped ZnO sensors for CO2 gas detection at room temperature |
| title_full | Design of high-sensitivity La-doped ZnO sensors for CO2 gas detection at room temperature |
| title_fullStr | Design of high-sensitivity La-doped ZnO sensors for CO2 gas detection at room temperature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design of high-sensitivity La-doped ZnO sensors for CO2 gas detection at room temperature |
| title_short | Design of high-sensitivity La-doped ZnO sensors for CO2 gas detection at room temperature |
| title_sort | design of high sensitivity la doped zno sensors for co2 gas detection at room temperature |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45196-y |
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