Abstract

A systematic comparison of single and binary metal oxides TiO2, TiO2-Ga2O3 and TiO2-Er2O3 thin film gas sensors with nanocrystalline and mesoporous microstructure, prepared by a new particulate sol-gel route, was conducted. The gas sensitivity was increased by introduction of Ga2O3 and Er2O3 into TiO2 film via two mechanisms, firstly through the inhibition of anatase-to-rutile transformation, since the anatase phase accommodates larger amounts of adsorbed oxygen, and secondly through the retardation of grain growth, since the higher surface area provides more active sites for gas molecule adsorption. The binary metal oxide gas sensors exhibited a remarkable response towards low concentrations of CO (25 ppm) and NO2 (0.5 ppm) gases at a low operating temperature of 200 degrees C, resulting in increasing thermal stability of sensing films as well as decreasing their power consumption. TiO2-Ga2O3 sensor with molar ratio of TiO2:Ga2O3 = 50:50 (TG11) showed the highest response towards CO concentrations in the range 25-400 ppm operated at 200 degrees C, whereas TiO2-Er2O3 sensor with molar ratio of TiO2:Er2O3 = 75:25 (TE31) had the highest response towards NO2 concentrations in the range 0.5-10 ppm at 200 degrees C. The response magnitude of 13.7 and 4.4 were achieved for TG11 and TE31 sensors towards 400 ppm CO and 10 ppm NO2, respectively. Furthermore, calibration curves revealed that all sensors followed the power law, S = A[gas](B) (where S is sensor response, coefficients A and B are constants and [gas] is gas concentration), for the two kinds of gases. (C) 2007 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.