ZnO/rGO/ZnO Composites with Synergic Enhanced Gas Sensing Performance for O3 Detection with No Ozonolysis Process

Abstract

rGO/ZnO composites have been widely studied for use as toxic gas sensors due to the synergistic effect between the materials and the reduction in sensor operating temperature promoted by rGO. However, few studies have employed rGO/ZnO sensors for ozone detection, as graphene materials are oxidized and/or degraded when exposed to ozone. This paper reports on a study of ZnO/rGO/ZnO-based sensors with different ZnO NP morphologies for ozone sensing. ZnO nanoparticles with needle-like and donut-like morphologies were synthesized by the precipitation method, and bare ZnO and ZnO/rGO/ZnO composite sensors were fabricated by layer-deposition of ZnO and/or rGO via drop-casting, forming a “sandwiched” structure that protects the rGO sheets. Bare ZnO and ZnO/rGO/ZnO composites were analyzed by varying the temperature from 200 to 300 °C. The ZnO/rGO/ZnO sensor provided a high 13.3 response (Rgas/Rair) and recovery times of 442 s and 253 s, respectively, for 50 ppb of O3, as well as high selectivity to ozone gas compared to CO, NH3, and NO2 gases. No oxidation or degradation of the sensor was observed during ozone detection measurements, indicating that the adopted manufacturing methodology was successful.