Enhanced sensing performance of the Co3O4 hierarchical nanorods to NH3 gas

• DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2014.11.141
• Publication Date: 2014-12-06T00:42:22Z
• Authors: Jianan Deng; Rui Zhang; Lili Wang; Zheng Lou; Tong Zhang
• Keywords: 01 natural sciences; 0104 chemical sciences

Abstract Hierarchical Co 3 O 4 nanorods are prepared by effective hydrothermal strategy. The morphology and structure of the hierarchical nanostructures are characterized by means of field emission scanning electron microscope, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The as-prepared Co 3 O 4 nanorods with the diameters about 200 nm are composed of small nanorods with average sizes of 20 nm. The gas-sensing properties of synthesized nanorods are tested to ammonia. Results reveal that hierarchical Co 3 O 4 nanorods have excellent sensing performance. Moreover, the sensor consisting of hierarchical Co 3 O 4 nanorods exhibits high response and fast response/recovery speed to ammonia gas, while the sensor made of normal Co 3 O 4 nanorods do not exhibit notable response to ammonia gas. Significant enhancement of the sensing performance is attributed to the unique hierarchical nanostructure and good catalytic activity of Co 3 O 4 nanomaterials.