We demonstrated high-performance gas sensors based on graphene oxide (GO) sheets partially reduced via low-temperature thermal treatments. Hydrophilic graphene oxide sheets uniformly suspended in water were first dispersed onto gold interdigitated electrodes. The partial reduction of the GO sheets was then achieved through low-temperature, multi-step annealing (100, 200, and 300 degrees C) or one-step heating (200 degrees C) of the device in argon flow at atmospheric pressure. The electrical conductance of GO was measured after each heating cycle to interpret the level of reduction. The thermally-reduced GO showed p-type semiconducting behavior in ambient conditions and was responsive to low-concentration NO2 and NH3 gases diluted in air at room temperature. The sensitivity can be attributed mainly to the electron transfer between the reduced GO and adsorbed gaseous molecules (NO2/NH3). Additionally, the contact between GO and the Au electrode is likely to contribute to the overall sensing response because of the adsorbates-induced Schottky barrier variation. A simplified model is used to explain the experimental observations.

An alkali-acitvated method was explored to synthesize activated carbon nanotubes (CNTs-A) with a high specific surface area (SSA), and a large number of mesopores. The resulting CNTs-A were used as an adsorbent material for removal of anionic and cationic dyes in aqueous solutions. Experimental results indicated that CNTs-A have excellent adsorption capacity for methyl orange (149 mg/g) and methylene blue (399 mg/g). Alkali-activation treatment of CNTs increased the SSA and pore volume (PV), and introduced oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of CNTs-A, which would be beneficial to improving the adsorption affinity of CNTs-A for removal of dyes. Kinetic regression results shown that the adsorption kinetic was more accurately represented by a pseudo second-order model. The overall adsorption process was jointly controlled by external mass transfer and intra-particle diffusion, and intra-particle diffusion played a dominant role. Freundlich isotherm model showed a better fit with adsorption data than Langmuir isotherm model. Adsorption interactions of dyes onto CNTs-A from aqueous solutions were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. The remarkable adsorption capacity of dye onto CNTs-A can be attributed to the multiple adsorption interaction mechanisms (hydrogen bonding, π-π electron-donor-acceptor interactions, electrostatic interactions, mesopore filling) on the CNTs-A. Results of this work are of great significance for environmental applications of activated CNTs as a promising adsorbent nanomaterial for organic pollutants from aqueous solutions.