Synthesis of a flower-like g-C3N4/ZnO hierarchical structure with improved CH4 sensing properties

Abstract

In this paper, a hierarchical structure of graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4) modified ZnO (g-C3N4 /ZnO) was synthesized using a simple precipitation-calcination method. Through this method, g-C3N4 nanosheets with a controlled content were successfully decorated on the petals of flower-like ZnO. Various techniques were used to confirm the successful formation of the g-C3N4 /ZnO hierarchical structure. The methane (CH4) sensing properties of g-C3N4 /ZnO sensor were investigated. The result exhibited that after decorating ZnO with g-C3N4, the CH4 sensing performances of the fabricated sensor were remarkably improved. At the optimum operating temperature of 320◦C, the response of the sensor fabricated with CNZ-3 (the sample with an optimum content of g-C3N4) towards 1000 ppm CH4 was as high as 11.9 (Ra/Rg), which was about 2.2 times higher than that of the pure ZnO sensor (5.3). In addition, the CNZ-3 sensor also exhibited a fast response/recovery speed (15/28 s) and outstanding long-term stability. The enhancing CH4 sensing mechanism may be contributed to enlarged surface area, pore structure, and g-C3N4-ZnO n-n junction.