Hydrothermal Synthesis and Responsive Characteristics of Hierarchical Zinc Oxide Nanoflowers to Sulfur Dioxide

Abstract

Sulfur dioxide, SO 2 , is one of the most important decomposition byproducts of sulfur hexafluoride, SF 6 , under partial discharge in GIS apparatus. The sensing performances of semiconductor gas sensors can be improved by morphology tailoring. This paper reported the synthesis method, structural characterization, and SO 2 responsive characteristics of hierarchical flower-shaped ZnO nanostructures. Hierarchical ZnO nanoflowers were successfully prepared via a facile and simple hydrothermal method and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. Planar chemical gas sensor was fabricated and its responsive characteristics towards SO 2 were systematically performed. The optimum operating temperature of the fabricated sensor was measured to be about 260°C, and the corresponding maximum responses were 16.72 and 26.14 to 30 and 60 ppm of SO 2 . Its saturated gas concentration was 2000 ppm with a response value of 67.41. Moreover, a quick response and recovery feature (7 s and 8 s versus 80 ppm of SO 2 ) and good stability were also observed. All results indicate that the proposed sensor is a promising candidate for detecting SF 6 decomposition byproduct SO 2 .