In2O3 Nanofibers and Nanoribbons: Preparation by Electrospinning and Their Formaldehyde Gas-Sensing Properties

In 2 O 3 nanofibers and nanoribbons were prepared by electrospinning combined with a poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)-assisted sol-gel technique. By tuning the experimental parameters, the morphological transformation of In 2 O 3 from nanofibers to nanoribbons was achieved. It was found that both the rapid evaporation of solvent and the concentration of the precursor played important roles in the formation process of In 2 O 3 nanoribbons. The average diameter of the In 2 O 3 nanofibers is 180 nm. The nanoribbons have an average width of 1 μm and a thickness of about 150 nm. The lengths of both can reach millimeters. The average grain size consisting of nanofibers and nanoribbons is 18.6 and 11.2 nm, respectively. The gas-sensing properties of In 2 O 3 nanofibers and nanoribbons toward formaldehyde vapor were investigated. Interestingly, the gas sensor fabricated with In 2 O 3 nanoribbons exhibited a higher and faster response at a relatively lower operating temperature than that fabricated with nanofibers.

[1]  Wei Wang,et al.  A highly sensitive and fast-responding sensor based on electrospun In2O3 nanofibers , 2009 .

[2]  Younan Xia,et al.  Electrospinning of polycrystalline barium titanate nanofibers with controllable morphology and alignment , 2006 .

[3]  P. Xu,et al.  High aspect ratio In2O3 nanowires: Synthesis, mechanism and NO2 gas-sensing properties , 2008 .

[4]  M. Brenner,et al.  Experimental characterization of electrospinning: the electrically forced jet and instabilities , 2001 .

[5]  Chao Li,et al.  Diameter‐Controlled Growth of Single‐Crystalline In2O3 Nanowires and Their Electronic Properties , 2003 .

[6]  Younan Xia,et al.  Magnetic nanofibers of nickel ferrite prepared by electrospinning , 2003 .

[7]  Jinke Tang,et al.  Study of quasi-monodisperse In2O3 nanocrystals: synthesis and optical determination. , 2005, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[8]  Zhongli Wang,et al.  Preparation of ferrite MFe2O4 (M = Co, Ni) ribbons with nanoporous structure and their magnetic properties. , 2008, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[9]  A. Konno,et al.  Effect of formaldehyde on the expression of adhesion molecules in nasal microvascular endothelial cells: the role of formaldehyde in the pathogenesis of sick building syndrome , 2002, Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

[10]  Xuejun Zheng,et al.  Synthesis and toluene sensing properties of SnO2 nanofibers , 2009 .

[11]  M. Diab,et al.  Thermal degradation and stability of poly(4-vinylpyridine) homopolymer and copolymers of 4-vinylpyridine with methyl acrylate , 1998 .

[12]  Younan Xia,et al.  Electrospinning: A Simple and Versatile Technique for Producing Ceramic Nanofibers and Nanotubes , 2006 .

[13]  Younan Xia,et al.  One‐Dimensional Nanostructures: Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications , 2003 .

[14]  J. Leckie,et al.  An efficient bicomponent TiO2/SnO2 nanofiber photocatalyst fabricated by electrospinning with a side-by-side dual spinneret method. , 2007, Nano letters.

[15]  Sihui Zhan,et al.  Long TiO2 hollow fibers with mesoporous walls: sol-gel combined electrospun fabrication and photocatalytic properties. , 2006, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[16]  Younan Xia,et al.  Direct Fabrication of Composite and Ceramic Hollow Nanofibers by Electrospinning , 2004 .

[17]  Jiaqiang Xu,et al.  Hydrothermal synthesis of In2O3 for detecting H2S in air , 2006 .

[18]  Hironori Arakawa,et al.  Efficiencies of Electron Injection from Excited N3 Dye into Nanocrystalline Semiconductor (ZrO2, TiO2, ZnO, Nb2O5, SnO2, In2O3) Films , 2004 .

[19]  Shiwu Zhang,et al.  Metastable Hexagonal In2O3 Nanofibers Templated from InOOH Nanofibers under Ambient Pressure , 2003 .

[20]  N. Du,et al.  Porous Indium Oxide Nanotubes: Layer‐by‐Layer Assembly on Carbon‐Nanotube Templates and Application for Room‐Temperature NH3 Gas Sensors , 2007 .

[21]  A. Gedanken,et al.  Sonohydrolysis of In3+ Ions: Formation of Needlelike Particles of Indium Hydroxide , 2000 .

[22]  Martin Moskovits,et al.  CHEMICAL SENSING AND CATALYSIS BY ONE-DIMENSIONAL METAL-OXIDE NANOSTRUCTURES , 2004 .

[23]  Yueping Fang,et al.  Hollow and tin-filled nanotubes of single-crystalline in OH3 grown by a solution-liquid-solid-solid route. , 2006, Angewandte Chemie.

[24]  M. Khil,et al.  Synthesis and Optical Properties of Two Cobalt Oxides (CoO and Co3O4) Nanofibers Produced by Electrospinning Process , 2008 .

[25]  F. Kruis,et al.  Tailored nanoparticle films from monosized tin oxide nanocrystals: Particle synthesis, film formation, and size-dependent gas-sensing properties , 2003 .

[26]  D A Weitz,et al.  Onset of buckling in drying droplets of colloidal suspensions. , 2005, Physical review letters.

[27]  Wenjia Zhou,et al.  Size-Controllable Growth of Single Crystal In(OH)3 and In2O3 Nanocubes , 2005 .

[28]  Michael Dudley,et al.  Fabrication and characterization of polycrystalline WO3 nanofibers and their application for ammonia sensing. , 2006, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[29]  Hongyu Guan,et al.  Preparation and characterization of ZnO nanofibers by using electrospun PVA/zinc acetate composite fiber as precursor , 2004 .

[30]  Guangzhao Zhang,et al.  In2O3 hollow microspheres: synthesis from designed In(OH)3 precursors and applications in gas sensors and photocatalysis. , 2006, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[31]  D. Y. Kim,et al.  Ultrasensitive chemiresistors based on electrospun TiO2 nanofibers. , 2006, Nano letters.

[32]  Darrell H. Reneker,et al.  Taylor Cone and Jetting from Liquid Droplets in Electrospinning of Nanofibers , 2001 .

[33]  Qing Peng,et al.  Indium hydroxides, oxyhydroxides, and oxides nanocrystals series. , 2007, Inorganic chemistry.

[34]  Yi Xie,et al.  Synthesis of hematite (alpha-Fe2O3) nanorods: diameter-size and shape effects on their applications in magnetism, lithium ion battery, and gas sensors. , 2006, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[35]  J. Horwitz,et al.  Transparent conducting Zr-doped In2O3 thin films for organic light-emitting diodes , 2001 .

[36]  Zhen-Lai Zhou,et al.  The fabrication and gas-sensing characteristics of the formaldehyde gas sensors with high sensitivity , 2008 .

[37]  Kengo Shimanoe,et al.  Theory of power laws for semiconductor gas sensors , 2008 .

[38]  K. Choi,et al.  Enhanced CO sensing characteristics of hierarchical and hollow In2O3 microspheres , 2009 .

[39]  Wei Zheng,et al.  Highly sensitive and stable humidity nanosensors based on LiCl doped TiO2 electrospun nanofibers. , 2008, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[40]  S. K. Gupta,et al.  Room-temperature H2S gas sensing at ppb level by single crystal In2O3 whiskers , 2008 .