Ppb-level unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine detection based on In2O3 hollow microspheres with Nd doping.

As one of main high-energy fuels for rocket launching, unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) and its decomposition products do harm to environment and human health. It is significant to develop a device to monitor its leakage. In this work, a UDMH gas sensor based on In2O3 hollow microspheres with Nd dopant was fabricated. The pure, 1.0 mol%, 3.0 mol% and 5.0 mol% Nd doped In2O3 were synthesized via one-step solvothermal method. Among them, 3.0% Nd-In2O3 based sensor exhibits the highest response toward UDMH vapor. Its response value to 100 ppm UDMH is 183.3 at optimal working temperature of 250 °C, 6.8 times higher than that of pure In2O3 (26.8). Besides high response to UDMH, the 3% Nd-In2O3 based sensor represents excellent selectivity, rapid response speed (2 s) and ultra-low theoretical LOD to UDMH (0.28 ppb). The improved gas sensing performance via Nd doping could be attributed to the enhanced specific surface area, increased concentration of adsorbed oxygen and improved adsorption capacity for UDMH molecular on the surface. The excellent sensing performance of Nd doped In2O3 hollow microspheres makes it a promising candidate for real-time UDMH detection.

Temperature-controlled resistive sensing of gaseous H2S or NO2 by using flower-like palladium-doped SnO2 nanomaterials.

Palladium-doped SnO2 nanomaterials, with palladium in fractions from 0 to 10 mol% were hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by XRD, FESEM, TEM, and XPS. Their gas sensing properties were studied in two temperature ranges of 75-95 °C and 160-210 °C. The sensor using 5 mol% Pd-doped SnO2 exhibits temperature-dependent sensing property. NO2 can be detected at 80 °C, while H2S is preferably detected at 180 °C. The response to 10 ppm H2S is 50 times higher than that of the undoped sample. Its detection limit is 500 ppb. For NO2, the sensor exhibited strong response and a lower detection limit of 20 ppb. In view of the selective detection of H2S and NO2 by regulating the temperature, palladium-doped SnO2 has great prospects in the detection of H2S and NO2. Graphical abstract Schematic of the gas sensing mechanism of the S-5% Pd doped SnO2.

Enhanced resistive acetone sensing by using hollow spherical composites prepared from MoO3 and In2O3.

Hollow sphere composites were synthesized by a template-free hydrothermal method from MoO3 and In2O3. The spheres have a typical size of 800 ± 50 nm and were characterized by XRD, FESEM, TEM, XPS. Gas sensors based on samples with different Mo/In composite ratios were fabricated and their gas sensing properties were studied. The results show that a Mo:In ratio of 1:1 in the composite gives the highest response, typically at a working temperature of 250 °C. The response increases to 38 when exposed to 100 ppm acetone at 250 °C. This is 13.6 times better than when using pure MoO3. The sensor shows improved selectivity, response, repeatability and long-term stability. Typical features include a large specific surface area, and high levels of chemisorbed oxygen and defective oxygen sites. The N-N heterojunction theory was used to explain the improvement of gas sensing performance. Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of MoO3 and In2O3 composites and response test graph for 100 ppm acetone. The sensor based on this composite exhibits a very high response (38) to acetone at 250 °C and very fast response time (2 s).

Enhanced nitrogen oxide sensing performance based on tin-doped tungsten oxide nanoplates by a hydrothermal method.

The great demand for gas sensors in practical applications has stimulated tremendous attention in this area due to its important significance in real life. A facile synthesis of WO3 nanoplates and their subsequent Sn doping strategy by using a hydrothermal method was investigated to enhance gas sensing performance for NO2 gas, one of the gases toxic to human beings and the environment. Various techniques were used to characterize all the products. The morphology characterizations demonstrated that all the samples exhibited a similar nanoplate structure with or without Sn doping. The gas sensing properties of the sensors based on different doping concentrations (0, 1, 2 and 5wt%) have been systematically investigated. The sensor based on the 2wt% Sn-doped WO3 nanoplates showed the maximum response to NO2 (55-100ppb NO2). Furthermore, the introduction of Sn ions into the sensing materials of WO3 resulted in shorter response and recovery times. This finding could be attributed to the increased number of oxygen vacancies on the surface of the sensing material and the resistance of the gas sensors. The results provide a new doping strategy to fabricate high performance NO2 gas sensors.

Porous α-Fe2O3 microflowers: Synthesis, structure, and enhanced acetone sensing performances.

Porous α-Fe2O3 microflowers, which were composed of many nanospindles assembled by large numbers of nanoparticles, were successfully synthesized by calcining the FeSO4(OH) precursor prepared through a simple ethanol-mediated method. Various techniques were employed to obtain the crystalline and morphological properties of the as-prepared products. The formation process of such microstructure was proposed according to the morphology and component of the products obtained at different reaction time. Moreover, the obtained α-Fe2O3 was utilized as sensing materials upon exposure to various test gases. As expected, in virtue of the less-agglomerated configuration and unique porous structure, the hierarchical α-Fe2O3 microflowers exhibited higher response as well as faster response/recovery time to acetone when compared with α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. Significantly, the response time was measured to be 1s at the low operating temperature of 210°C.

Detection of Methanol with Fast Response by Monodispersed Indium Tungsten Oxide Ellipsoidal Nanospheres.

Indium tungsten oxide ellipsoidal nanospheres were prepared with different In/W ratios by using a simple hydrothermal method without any surfactant for the first time. Sensors based on different In/W ratios samples were fabricated, and one of the samples exhibited better response to methanol compared with others. High content of defective oxygen (Ov) and proper output proportion of In to W might be the main reasons for the better gas sensing properties. The length of the nanosphere was about 150-200 nm, and the width was about 100 nm. Various techniques were applied to investigate the nanospheres. Sensing characteristics toward methanol were investigated. Significantly, the sensor exhibited ultrafast response to methanol. The response time to 400 ppm methanol was no more than 2 s and the recovery time was 9 s at 312 °C. Most importantly, the humidity almost had no effect on the response of the sensor fabricated here, which is hard to achieve in gas-sensing applications.

Hydrothermal Synthesis and Multicolor Upconversion Fluorescence of Novel LiLuF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ Microcrystals.

LiLuF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ upconversion luminescence materials were synthesized by a hydrothermal method, in which NaF and NaBF4 were used as fluorine sources (labeled as sample A and B, respectively). Their morphologies, XRD patterns and UC emission properties were compared. The synthesized crystallites consist of regular octahedrons of several micrometers and aggregates. The XRD patterns indicate that they belong to tetragonal crystal system with 141/a space group. These microcrystals emit strong UC violet, visible and near infrared light under the excitation of 980 nm laser diode. The multicolor UC emissions from sample B are much stronger than those from sample A. The strong emission intensity is ascribed to good crystal quality of sample B.

Improved ultraviolet upconversion emissions of Ho3+ in hexagonal NaYF4 microcrystals under 980 nm excitation.

Under 980 nm excitation, enhanced ultraviolet (UV) upconversion (UC) emissions at 242.4 nm, 276.1 nm, 289.7 nm, 296.4 nm, 303.6 nm, 357.7 nm and 387.8 nm of Ho3+ ions were observed in beta-NaYF4:20%Yb3+, 1.5%Ho3+ microcrystals (MC) which were synthesized through a hydrothermal method. The results indicated that these UV emissions came from five- and four-photon UC processes. Dynamical analysis on Ho3+ excited states suggests that, for excited Ho3+ ions, the higher the energy level is, the shorter the lifetime is.

Enhanced near-infrared upconversion luminescence of GdF3:Yb3+, Tm3+ by Li+.

GdF3:0.23Yb3+, 0.005Tm3+, x%Li+ (x = 0-7) NIR to NIR upconversion nanocrystals (UCNPs) were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Their XRD patterns show that they are all orthorhombic phase despite of different Li+ ion concentrations. The detailed analysis indicates that lithium ions substitute Gd3+ sites at x < 3. As the Li+ content increases, more Li+ ions enter host lattice interstitially. The doped Li+ ions affect the crystal field symmetry around Tm3+ ions, which results in the change of the irradiation transition probabilities between their corresponding transition levels. Compared with GdF3:0.23Yb3+, 0.005Tm3+, the NIR to NIR upconversion emission intensity of GdF3:0.23Yb3+, 0.005Tm3+, 0.03Li+ nanocrystals (excitation at 980 nm, emission at 808 nm) increases 2.2 times.

Upconversion luminescence properties of Yb3+ and Tm3+ codoped amorphous fluoride ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF thin film prepared by pulsed laser deposition.

The Yb3+ and Tm3+ co-doped 55.98ZrF4-28BaF2-2.5LaF3-4AlF3-7NaF-2.5YbF3-0.02TmF3 amorphous fluoride film was prepared by pulsed laser deposition. The spectroscopic properties and energy transfer analysis of this film were studies in detail. Ultraviolet and visible upconversion emissions were observed under the infrared excitation at 980 nm. In comparison with that of its target, the upconversion emissions of the film in the visible and ultraviolet range were greatly enhanced. The possible energy transfer mechanism of the emissions was given to understand the upconversion process. This kind of thin films has potential applications for the integrated optical waveguide amplifier and ultraviolet laser.