PdO-modified α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with enhanced gas performance for dimethyl disulfide

Abstract Noble metal modification was a very promising way to enhance the gas-sensing properties of semiconductor materials. Therefore, gas sensors based on noble metal modified semiconductor materials had received much attention. In this work, PdO-modified α-Fe2O3 (denoted as PdO-α-Fe2O3) composite nanocrystals were fabricated by simple hydrothermal approach and wet impregnation means. The outcome disclosed that the 1.0 wt% PdO-α-Fe2O3 sensor exhibited better response in detecting dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) than that of pure α-Fe2O3 sensor and other PdO-α-Fe2O3 sensors based on different content of palladium oxide. Specially, the maximum response value in testing 100 ppm DMDS for 1.0 wt% PdO-α-Fe2O3 sensor can reach 113.1, and that of original α-Fe2O3 sensor was 11.1. Moreover, the outstanding selectivity, fast response/recovery time (1 s/68 s), superior repeatability and stable long-term stability toward 100 ppm DMDS distinguished this 1.0 wt% PdO-α-Fe2O3 sensor from pristine α-Fe2O3 sensor. Here, the function and sensing mechanism of 1.0 wt% PdO-α-Fe2O3 were also discussed.