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An impedance sensor for the detection of formaldehyde vapor using ZnO nanoparticles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2017

Padmanathan Karthick Kannan  and
Ramiah Saraswathi Open the ORCID record for Ramiah Saraswathi [Opens in a new window]
Padmanathan Karthick Kannan
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science, School of Chemistry, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625021, Tamil Nadu, India; and School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
Ramiah Saraswathi*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science, School of Chemistry, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625021, Tamil Nadu, India
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: drrsaraswathi@gmail.com, saraswathir@yahoo.com
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Abstract

A highly sensitive impedance sensor operating at room temperature has been developed for the quantitative determination of formaldehyde vapor. Nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) was synthesized by chemical reduction and used, in the form of a pellet, as the sensing material. Its performance was compared to that of the pellet made from commercial ZnO. Both samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy techniques. Changes in impedance caused by formaldehyde in the concentration range from 100 to 800 ppm were measured and Nyquist plots revealed a systematic variation in impedance. The sensor response and formaldehyde concentration are exponentially correlated for both the laboratory synthesized and commercial ZnO samples. However, the lab-synthesized sample displays a better performance in terms of sensitivity, response, recovery, and stability. In addition, the response of the lab-synthesized sample is less sensitive to interferences by reducing gases such as ammonia, ethanol, methanol, and propanol.

Keywords

gas sensorimpedance gas sensororganic vaporformaldehydezinc oxide nanoparticles
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 32 , Issue 14 , 28 July 2017 , pp. 2800 - 2809
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Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

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Footnotes

Contributing Editor: Gary L. Messing

References

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