Enhancement of NO2 gas sensing response based on ordered mesoporous Fe-doped In2O3

Abstract Ordered mesoporous Fe-In 2 O 3 has been synthesized via a nanocasting route using the three-dimensional (3D) cubic mesoporous KIT-6 silica as a hard template. Various techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption–desorption and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed for the material characterization. All the results demonstrate that the obtained Fe-doped In 2 O 3 displays the high surface area, ordered mesoporous structure and well crystallite. The NO 2 sensing properties of the sensors based on mesoporous pure In 2 O 3 and Fe-doped In 2 O 3 samples were detected by a static test system. The sensor utilizing mesoporous Fe-doped In 2 O 3 exhibits much higher response to NO 2 gas compared to that using mesoporous pure In 2 O 3 prepared by the same nanocasting technique. The excellent gas sensing property of mesoporous Fe-doped In 2 O 3 is associated with its higher surface area and pore volume which induce highly effective surface interaction between the target gas molecules and the surface active sites. Moreover, the improved sensing behavior to NO 2 has been linked to the incorporation of iron species on the sensor, favoring the effective adsorption of NO 2 molecules on the surface. All the factors are obviously beneficial for enhancing the gas-sensing performance.

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