Synthesis of TiO<sub>2</sub>-(B) Nanobelts for Acetone Sensing
Gayan W. C. Kumarage,
Shasika A. Panamaldeniya,
Dileepa C. Maddumage,
Abderrahim Moumen,
Valentin A. Maraloiu,
Catalina G. Mihalcea,
Raluca F. Negrea,
Buddhika S. Dassanayake,
Nanda Gunawardhana,
Dario Zappa,
Vardan Galstyan,
Elisabetta Comini
Affiliations
Gayan W. C. Kumarage
SENSOR Lab, Department of Information Engineering, University of Brescia, 25133 Brescia, Italy
Shasika A. Panamaldeniya
Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 20400, Sri Lanka
Dileepa C. Maddumage
Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 20400, Sri Lanka
Abderrahim Moumen
SENSOR Lab, Department of Information Engineering, University of Brescia, 25133 Brescia, Italy
Valentin A. Maraloiu
Laboratory of Atomic Structures and Defects in Advanced Materials, National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor str. 405 A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Catalina G. Mihalcea
Laboratory of Atomic Structures and Defects in Advanced Materials, National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor str. 405 A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Raluca F. Negrea
Laboratory of Atomic Structures and Defects in Advanced Materials, National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor str. 405 A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Buddhika S. Dassanayake
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 20400, Sri Lanka
Nanda Gunawardhana
Research and International Affairs, Sri Lanka Technological Campus, Padukka 10500, Sri Lanka
Dario Zappa
SENSOR Lab, Department of Information Engineering, University of Brescia, 25133 Brescia, Italy
Vardan Galstyan
SENSOR Lab, Department of Information Engineering, University of Brescia, 25133 Brescia, Italy
Elisabetta Comini
SENSOR Lab, Department of Information Engineering, University of Brescia, 25133 Brescia, Italy
Titanium dioxide nanobelts were prepared via the alkali-hydrothermal method for application in chemical gas sensing. The formation process of TiO2-(B) nanobelts and their sensing properties were investigated in detail. FE-SEM was used to study the surface of the obtained structures. The TEM and XRD analyses show that the prepared TiO2 nanobelts are in the monoclinic phase. Furthermore, TEM shows the formation of porous-like morphology due to crystal defects in the TiO2-(B) nanobelts. The gas-sensing performance of the structure toward various concentrations of hydrogen, ethanol, acetone, nitrogen dioxide, and methane gases was studied at a temperature range between 100 and 500 °C. The fabricated sensor shows a high response toward acetone at a relatively low working temperature (150 °C), which is important for the development of low-power-consumption functional devices. Moreover, the obtained results indicate that monoclinic TiO2-B is a promising material for applications in chemo-resistive gas detectors.
