Au₃₉Rh₆₁ Alloy Nanocrystal-Decorated W₁₈O₄₉ for Enhanced Detection of <i>n</i>-Butanol

Abstract

Here, Au_<i>x</i>Rh_1-<i>x</i> alloy nanocrystals (NCs) were used to decorate W₁₈O₄₉ for enhanced detection of <i>n</i>-butanol vapor. Monodisperse Au_<i>x</i>Rh_1-<i>x</i> alloy NCs with a tunable composition and urchinlike W₁₈O₄₉ were synthesized by a simple solvothermal method. Au_<i>x</i>Rh_1-<i>x</i> alloy NCs were loaded onto the W₁₈O₄₉ surface by the impregnation method. A series of material characterization methods were employed to characterize the structure and morphology of as-synthesized materials. The performance of Au_<i>x</i>Rh_1-<i>x</i>-W₁₈O₄₉-based sensors to <i>n</i>-butanol was investigated. The results demonstrated that the Au₃₉Rh₆₁-W₁₈O₄₉-based sensor had the highest response, short response time, good selectivity, excellent repeatability, and stability to <i>n</i>-butanol. The gas sensing mechanism was supposed, the excellent catalytic capability of the Au_<i>x</i>Rh_1-<i>x</i> alloy NCs were believed to be a major factor in enhancing the detection of <i>n</i>-butanol.