Xe plus ion irradiation to boost NO2 sensing characteristics of SnO2 nanowires

Abstract

In this paper, pristine and Xe+ ion-irradiated sensors are studied for NO2 sensing purposes. SnO2 nanowires (NWs) were synthesized via a simple growth method and irradiated with Xe+ ions at different doses (1014, 1015, and 1016 ions/cm2). The gas sensors were fabricated after different characterizations of morphology, phase, and chemical composition. The NO2 sensing experiments revealed that there was an optimal dose (1014 ions/cm2) for which the highest response to NO2 was achieved. At 200 degrees C, the optimal sensor had a high response of 27.32-10 ppm of NO2. Furthermore, the sensor demonstrated high selectivity to NO2 gas. The boosted gas response of the optimized sensor was due to the formation of n-n homojunctions between the SnO2-SnO2 NWs and the irradiation-induced formation of defects. This study confirms the usefulness of irradiation in boosting the sensing features of metal oxides.