The design of a highly effective isopropanol gas sensor
with high
response and trace detection capability is extremely important for
environmental surveillance and human health. Here, novel flower-like
PtO
x
@ZnO/In2O3 hollow
microspheres were prepared by a three-step approach. The hollow structure
was composed of an In2O3 shell inside and layered
ZnO/In2O3 nanosheets outside with PtO
x
nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface. Meanwhile, the
gas sensing performances of the ZnO/In2O3 composite
with different Zn/In ratios and PtO
x
@ZnO/In2O3 composites were evaluated and compared systematically.
The measurement results indicated that the ratio of Zn/In affected
the sensing performance and the ZnIn2 sensor presented
a higher response, which was then modified with PtO
x
NPs to further enhance its sensing property. The Pt@ZnIn2 sensor exhibited outstanding isopropanol detection performance
with ultrahigh response values under 22 and 95% relative humidity
(RH). In addition, it also showed a rapid response/recovery speed,
good linearity, and low theoretical limit of detection (LOD) regardless
of being under a relatively dry or ultrahumid atmosphere. The enhancement
of isopropanol sensing properties might be ascribed to the unique
structure of PtO
x
@ZnO/In2O3, heterojunctions between the components, and catalytic effect
of Pt NPs.