SnO/SnO₂ heterojunction: an alternative candidate for sensing NO₂ with fast response at room temperature

Abstract

The SnO₂-based family is a traditional but important gas-sensitive material. However, the requirement for high working temperature limits its practical application. Much work has been done to explore ways to improve its gas-sensing performance at room temperature (RT). For this report, SnO₂, SnO, and SnO/SnO₂ heterojunction was successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal combined with subsequent calcination. Pure SnO₂ requires a high operating temperature (145 °C), while SnO/SnO₂ heterojunction exhibits an excellent performance for sensing NO₂ at RT. Moreover, SnO/SnO₂ exhibits a fast response, of 32 s, to 50 ppm NO₂ at RT (27 °C), which is much faster than that of SnO (139 s). The superior sensing properties of SnO/SnO₂ heterojunction are attributed to the unique hierarchical structures, large number of adsorption sites, and enhanced electron transport. Our results show that SnO/SnO₂ heterojunction can be used as a promising high-performance NO₂ sensitive material at RT.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

SnO / SnO₂ / heterostructure / NO₂ / room temperature

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