Ultrasensitive Room-Temperature Operable Gas Sensors Using p-Type Na:ZnO Nanoflowers for Diabetes Detection.

Ultrasensitive room-temperature operable gas sensors utilizing the photocatalytic activity of Na-doped p-type ZnO (Na:ZnO) nanoflowers (NFs) are demonstrated as a promising candidate for diabetes detection. The flowerlike Na:ZnO nanoparticles possessing ultrathin hierarchical nanosheets were synthesized by a facile solution route at a low processing temperature of 40 °C. It was found that the Na element acting as a p-type dopant was successfully incorporated in the ZnO lattice. On the basis of the synthesized p-type Na:ZnO NFs, room-temperature operable chemiresistive-type gas sensors were realized, activated by ultraviolet (UV) illumination. The Na:ZnO NF gas sensors exhibited high gas response (S of 3.35) and fast response time (∼18 s) and recovery time (∼63 s) to acetone gas (100 ppm, UV intensity of 5 mW cm-2), and furthermore, subppm level (0.2 ppm) detection was achieved at room temperature, which enables the diagnosis of various diseases including diabetes from exhaled breath.

[1]  Kezheng Chen,et al.  Facile synthesis of flower-like 3D ZnO superstructures via solution route , 2012 .

[2]  Donald A. Melnick.  Zinc Oxide Photoconduction, an Oxygen Adsorption Process , 1957 .

[3]  Ji-Beom Yoo,et al.  Highly sensitive NO2 gas sensor based on ozone treated graphene , 2012 .

[4]  Jian Song,et al.  Preparation and Gas Sensing Properties of In2O3/Au Nanorods for Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds in Exhaled Breath , 2015, Scientific Reports.

[5]  G. Lu,et al.  Template-free microwave-assisted synthesis of ZnO hollow microspheres and their application in gas sensing , 2013 .

[6]  Qun Ma,et al.  Controllable synthesis of hierarchical flower-like ZnO nanostructures assembled by nanosheets and its optical properties , 2015 .

[7]  W. Liu,et al.  Na-doped p-type ZnO microwires. , 2010, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[8]  Z. Ye,et al.  Mechanism of Na-doped p-type ZnO films: Suppressing Na interstitials by codoping with H and Na of appropriate concentrations , 2009 .

[9]  T. I. Barry,et al.  The reactions of oxygen at dark and irradiated zinc oxide surfaces , 1960, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[10]  Sunghoon Park,et al.  UV-enhanced NO2 gas sensing properties of SnO2-core/ZnO-shell nanowires at room temperature. , 2013, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[11]  G. Yang,et al.  Light-controlling, flexible and transparent ethanol gas sensor based on ZnO nanoparticles for wearable devices , 2015, Scientific Reports.

[12]  Ivan P. Parkin,et al.  A simple equivalent circuit model to represent microstructure effects on the response of semiconducting oxide-based gas sensors , 2003 .

[13]  L. Fang,et al.  Effects of Na content on structural and optical properties of Na-doped ZnO thin films prepared by sol–gel method , 2015 .

[14]  W. Cai,et al.  Sodium-Doped ZnO Nanowires Grown by High-pressure PLD and their Acceptor-Related Optical Properties , 2014 .

[15]  Jianzhong Li,et al.  Determination of acetone in breath , 2005 .

[16]  Qingyi Pan,et al.  The template-free synthesis of square-shaped SnO2 nanowires: the temperature effect and acetone gas sensors , 2008, Nanotechnology.

[17]  W. Benecke,et al.  Direct Growth of Freestanding ZnO Tetrapod Networks for Multifunctional Applications in Photocatalysis, UV Photodetection, and Gas Sensing. , 2015, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[18]  X. Zhang,et al.  Determination of acetone in human breath by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and solid-phase microextraction with on-fiber derivatization. , 2004, Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences.

[19]  C. Koo,et al.  High performance and high stability low temperature aqueous solution-derived Li–Zr co-doped ZnO thin film transistors , 2012 .

[20]  Lei Liao,et al.  Hydrogen gas sensor based on metal oxide nanoparticles decorated graphene transistor. , 2015, Nanoscale.

[21]  Udo Weimar,et al.  Investigations of conduction mechanism in Cr2O3 gas sensing thick films by ac impedance spectroscopy and work function changes measurements , 2008 .

[22]  Xiaogan Li,et al.  Room temperature impedance spectroscopy-based sensing of formaldehyde with porous TiO2 under UV illumination , 2013 .

[23]  Sebastian Wille,et al.  Fabrication of Macroscopically Flexible and Highly Porous 3D Semiconductor Networks from Interpenetrating Nanostructures by a Simple Flame Transport Approach , 2013 .

[24]  G. Lu,et al.  Template-free synthesis and gas sensing properties of hierarchical hollow ZnO microspheres , 2013 .

[25]  Shuyi Ma,et al.  Excellent acetone sensor of La-doped ZnO nanofibers with unique bead-like structures , 2015 .

[26]  Bogusław Buszewski,et al.  Determination of volatile organic compounds as potential markers of lung cancer by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry versus trained dogs , 2014 .

[27]  Il-Doo Kim,et al.  Thin‐Wall Assembled SnO2 Fibers Functionalized by Catalytic Pt Nanoparticles and their Superior Exhaled‐Breath‐Sensing Properties for the Diagnosis of Diabetes , 2013 .

[28]  Ting Zhang,et al.  Electrochemically Functionalized Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotube Gas Sensor , 2006 .

[29]  Oliver Ambacher,et al.  Photon stimulated ozone sensor based on indium oxide nanoparticles II: Ozone monitoring in humidity and water environments , 2012 .

[30]  Fanli Meng,et al.  Sub-ppb detection of acetone using Au-modified flower-like hierarchical ZnO structures , 2015 .

[31]  Shui-Tong Lee,et al.  Single-Crystalline Sodium-Doped p-Type ZnO and ZnMgO Nanowires via Combination of Thin-Film and Nano Techniques , 2011 .

[32]  Chih-hung Chang,et al.  Visible-light-sensitive Na-doped p-type flower-like ZnO photocatalysts synthesized via a continuous flow microreactor , 2013 .

[33]  N. Bârsan,et al.  Conduction Model of Metal Oxide Gas Sensors , 2001 .

[34]  Xuxu Wang,et al.  Gas sensing property of ZnO under visible light irradiation at room temperature , 2013 .

[35]  R. Feidenhansl,et al.  Strong light scattering and broadband (UV to IR) photoabsorption in stretchable 3D hybrid architectures based on Aerographite decorated by ZnO nanocrystallites , 2016, Scientific Reports.

[36]  J. H. Lee,et al.  Highly sensitive and selective gas sensors using p-type oxide semiconductors: Overview , 2014 .

[37]  Yongcai Zhang,et al.  Synthesis of Na-doped ZnO nanowires and their antibacterial properties , 2011 .

[38]  J. Siedlewski,et al.  Sodium-doped carbon films for humidity sensor construction , 1996 .

[39]  Peidong Yang,et al.  Nanowire ultraviolet photodetectors and optical switches , 2002 .

[40]  E. S. Snow,et al.  Chemical Detection with a Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Capacitor , 2005, Science.

[41]  U. Weimar,et al.  Understanding the fundamental principles of metal oxide based gas sensors; the example of CO sensing with SnO2 sensors in the presence of humidity , 2003 .

[42]  Suhuai Wei,et al.  Origin of p -type doping difficulty in ZnO: The impurity perspective , 2002 .

[43]  Xuejun Zheng,et al.  Fabrication of flower-like ZnO nanosheet and nanorod-assembled hierarchical structures and their enhanced performance in gas sensors , 2014 .

[44]  Changsheng Xie,et al.  A comparative study on UV light activated porous TiO2 and ZnO film sensors for gas sensing at room temperature , 2012 .

[45]  Fanming Meng,et al.  Enhanced photo-induced hydrophilicity of the sol–gel-derived ZnO thin films by Na-doping , 2011 .

[46]  Changsheng Xie,et al.  Solution-Processed Gas Sensors Based on ZnO Nanorods Array with an Exposed (0001) Facet for Enhanced Gas-Sensing Properties , 2012 .

[47]  Yulin Deng,et al.  UV-Light-Activated ZnO Fibers for Organic Gas Sensing at Room Temperature , 2010 .

[48]  S. Ilican.  Effect of Na doping on the microstructures and optical properties of ZnO nanorods , 2013 .