Electrospun Granular Hollow SnO₂ Nanofibers Hydrogen Gas Sensors Operating at Low Temperatures

Abstract

In this paper, we present H 2 gas sensors based on hollow and filled, well-aligned electrospun SnO 2 nanofibers, operating at a low temperature of 150 °C. SnO 2 nanofibers with diameters ranging from 80 to 400 nm have been successfully synthesized in which the diameter of the nanofibers can be controlled by adjusting the concentration of polyacrylonitrile in the solution for electrospinning. The presence of this polymer results in the formation of granular walls for the nanofibers. We discussed the correlation between nanofibers morphology, structure, oxygen vacancy contents and the gas sensing performances. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that the granular hollow SnO 2 nanofibers, which show the highest responses, contain a significant number of oxygen vacancies, which are favorable for gas sensor operating at low temperatures.