Ultrafast Response/Recovery and High Selectivity of the H₂S Gas Sensor Based on α-Fe₂O₃ Nano-Ellipsoids from One-Step Hydrothermal Synthesis

Abstract

Ultrafast response/recovery and high selectivity of gas sensors are critical for real-time and online monitoring of hazardous gases. In this work, α-Fe₂O₃ nano-ellipsoids were synthesized using a facile one-step hydrothermal method and investigated as highly sensitive H₂S-sensing materials. The nano-ellipsoids have an average long-axis diameter of 275 nm and an average short-axis diameter of 125 nm. H₂S gas sensors fabricated using the α-Fe₂O₃ nano-ellipsoids showed excellent H₂S-sensing performance at an optimum working temperature of 260 °C. The response and recovery times were 0.8 s/2.2 s for H₂S gas with a concentration of 50 ppm, which are much faster than those of H₂S gas sensors reported in the literature. The α-Fe₂O₃ nano-ellipsoid-based sensors also showed high selectivity to H₂S compared to other commonly investigated gases including NH₃, CO, NO₂, H₂, CH₂Cl₂, and ethanol. In addition, the sensors exhibited high-response values to different concentrations of H₂S with a detection limit as low as 100 ppb, as well as excellent repeatability and long-term stability.