Microwave-assisted synthesis of ZnO/MWCNT hybrid nanocomposites and their alcohol-sensing properties

Abstract

Zinc oxide and multi-walled carbon nanotube (ZnO/MWCNT) hybrid nanocomposites were synthesised by microwave-assisted method using the mixed solution of zinc acetate dehydrate (Zn(CH 3 COO) 2 Á2H 2 O) and treated MWCNTs. The syntheses were carried out at various microwave irradiation powers. The characterisation of the as-synthesised nanocomposites was conducted by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD results revealed that the composites were composed of two phases of MWCNTs and hexagonal wurzite ZnO. The SEM results showed that the ZnO nanoparticles were well decorated on the surface of MWCNTs. The amount of ZnO nanoparticles and their size increased with increasing irradiation power. Thick-film sensors were fabricated onto interdigitated conducting electrodes using as-synthesised hybrid composites as sensing materials. The alcohol-sensing behaviour of the hybrid composite films was investigated. The results indicated that the irradiation power had significant influence on the sensing response of the sensors toward alcohol. The sensor fabricated from the composite synthesised at higher irradiation power exhibited an enhanced alcohol-sensing performance.

A Review of Microwave Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanomaterials: Reactants, Process Parameters and Morphologies

“…Microwave hybrid synthesis method of ZnO composites or ZnO hybrid structures, where the literature review results [ 887 , 888 , 889 , 890 , 891 , 892 , 893 , 894 , 895 , 896 , 897 , 898 , 899 , 900 , 901 , 902 , 903 , 904 , 905 , 906 , 907 , 908 , 909 , 910 , 911 , 912 , 913 , 914 , 915 , 916 , 917 , 918 , 919 , 920 , 921 , 922 , 923 , 924 , 925 , 926 , 927 ] are summarised in Table 14 .…”

“…composite and hybrid materials: Ag-ZnO [ 887 , 888 , 889 ], Au-ZnO [ 887 ], Ag–ZnO–graphene [ 889 ], Al 3+ doped ZnO/Sn doped In 2 O 3 [ 891 ], Au/Fe 2 O 3 –ZnO [ 892 ], ZnO/BiOBr [ 898 ], Zn–ZnO [ 899 , 900 ], ZnO–ZrO 2 [ 901 ], ZnAl 2 O 4 /ZnO [ 902 , 903 ], Cu–ZnO–Al 2 O 3 [ 905 ], Cu–ZnO [ 906 ], Fe 2 O 3 /ZnO [ 909 ], In 2 O 3 –Ga 2 O 3 –ZnO [ 912 , 913 ], MgO–ZnO [ 916 ], Sb 2 O 3 –MnO–CoO–Cr 2 O 3 –ZnO [ 918 ], Ti x O y –ZnO [ 920 ], ZnO/ZnFe 2 O 4 [ 921 ], ZnO/multi-walled carbon nanotube [ 922 ], ZnO—exfoliated graphene [ 923 ], ZnO–expandable graphite [ 927 ], and ZnO–reduced graphene oxide [ 924 , 925 ].…”

Fabrication of ZnO/CNTs for Application in CO2 Sensor at Room Temperature

“…The electrons will transfer from the conduction band of ZnO to CNTs and holes will flow from CNTs to ZnO until this creates the in-built electric field between the n-ZnO/p-CNTs heterojunction [70,71]. When the CO 2 interacts with ZnO/CNTs surface, the field can be decreased owing to the easy flow of the charge carriers, which leads to a much higher sensing response [30,72]. The potential barrier between the n-ZnO/p-CNTs heterojunction is decreased under exposure to CO 2 gas, which offers an easy flow of the charge carriers and hence a higher sensing response [30,71,72].…”

Functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes for oil spill cleanup from water

“…ZnO is among the earliest discovered metal oxides and is an integral part of gas-sensing materials due to the high mobility of conductive electrons, and has good thermal and chemical stability. Similarly, MWCNTs show better performance even at a lower temperature because of excellent electrical properties and high surface area (Potirak et al 2014). The ZnO-doped MWCNTs are being synthesized using various approaches with remarkable functional properties suitable for a variety of chemical and industrial processes.…”