Statistical Analysis of Yttrium-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles for Gas Sensing Applications

Authors

  • S. Kumar Department of Physics (School of Science) Sunrise University, Alawar, Rajasthan, India
  • A. Nehra Department of Mathematics, Dhanauri P.G. College, Dhanauri, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71330/thenucleus.2025.1367

Abstract

Yttrium-doped ZnO (YZ) thin films were synthesized using sol-gel spin coating technique on planar glass substrates. Their optical and electrical properties were analyzed to assess their potential for O₂ gas detection. XRD analysis confirmed a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure, while FE-SEM images revealed a network of spherical nanoparticles. Optical transmission spectra showed that increasing Y-dopant concentration widened the bandgap from 3.27 eV to 3.30 eV. Electrical measurements indicated that YZ3 exhibited highest conductivity. Gas sensing performance was evaluated for YZ2 and YZ4 at an O₂ flow rate of 450 sccm and an operating temperature of 70°C. Among them, YZ4 demonstrated the highest response, reaching a value of 1, with a fast response time of 2 seconds and a recovery time of 4 seconds. Statistical analysis suggests that YZ thin films hold promise for efficient gas sensing at lower operating temperatures.

References

R. T. R. Kumar, J. Grabowska, J. P. Mosnier, M. O. Henry, and E. McGlynn, "Morphological control of ZnO nanostructures grown on silicon in integrated optoelectronic devices," Proc. SPIE, vol. 6474, pp. 64741, 2007.

C. Y. Lu, S. P. Chang, S. J. Chang, T. J. Hsueh, C. L. Hsu, Y. Z. Chiou, and I. C. Chen, "ZnO nanowire-based oxygen gas sensor," IEEE Sens. J., vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 485–489, 2009.

N. Kumar, R. Kaur, and R. M. Mehra, "Characterization of sol-gel derived yttrium-doped n-ZnO/p-Si heterostructure," Mater. Sci. Poland, vol. 24, pp. 375–383, 2006.

V. Kumar, V. Kumar, S. Soma, L. P. Purohit, O. M. Ntwaeaborwa, and H. C. Swart, "Role of swift heavy ion irradiation on the emission of boron-doped ZnO thin films for near white light application," J. Alloys Compd., vol. 594, pp. 32–38, 2014.

T. K. Pathak, V. Kumar, H. C. Swart, and L. P. Purohit, "P-type conductivity in doped and co-doped ZnO thin films synthesized by RF magnetron sputtering," J. Mod. Opt., vol. 62, pp. 1368–1373, 2015.

R. C. Singh, M. P. Singh, O. Singh, P. S. Chandi, and R. Kumar, "Effect of 100 MeV O⁷⁺ ions irradiation on ethanol sensing response of nanostructures of ZnO and SnO₂," Appl. Phys., vol. 98, pp. 161–166, 2010.

V. Galstyan, E. Comini, C. Baratto, G. Faglia, and G. Sberveglierim, "Nanostructured Zn chemical gas sensor," Ceram. Int., vol. 41, pp. 14239–14244, 2015.

G. K. Upadhyay, J. K. Rajput, T. K. Pathak, and P. K. Pal, "Tailoring and optimization of hybrid ZnO: TiO₂: CdO nanomaterials for advanced oxidation process under visible light," Appl. Surf. Sci., vol. 509, pp. 145326, 2020.

G. K. Upadhyay, J. K. Rajput, T. K. Pathak, and V. Kumar, "Synthesis of ZnO: TiO₂ nanocomposites for photocatalyst application in visible light," Vacuum, vol. 160, pp. 154–163, 2019.

G. Korotcenkov, “Handbook of Gas Sensor Materials: Properties, Advantages and Shortcomings for Applications,” Volume 1: Conventional Approaches, Springer, New York, Heidelberg, Dordrecht, London, vol. 1, pp. 442–454, 2013.

M. J. Madou and S. R. Morrison, Chemical Sensing with Solid State Devices, Academic Press, London, vol. 19, pp. 342–348, 1989.

P. Singh, R. Kumar, and R. K. Singh, "Progress on transition metal-doped ZnO nanoparticles and its application," Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., vol. 58, pp. 17130–17163, 2019.

L. Cheng, S. Y. Ma, X. B. Li, J. Luo, W. Q. Li, F. M. Li, Y. Z. Mao, T. T. Wang, and Y. F. Li, "Highly sensitive acetone sensors based on Y-doped SnO₂ prismatic hollow nanofibers synthesized by electrospinning," Sens. Actuators B: Chem., vol. 200, pp. 181–190, 2014.

M. Hjiri, R. Dhahri, K. Omri, L. E. Mir, S. G. Leonardi, N. Donato, and G. Neri, "Effect of indium doping on ZnO-based gas sensor for CO," Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process., vol. 27, pp. 319–325, 2014.

S. A. Hakim, Y. Liu, Y. Lu, and W. Chen, "Room temperature highly selective ethanol sensing behavior of hydrothermally prepared Te-V₂O₅ nanorod nanocomposites," Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process., vol. 31, pp. 630–638, 2015.

R. C. Singh, O. Singh, M. P. Singh, P. S. Chandi, and R. Thangaraj, "Sensing behavior of nanosized zinc-tin composite oxide towards liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol," Mater. Res. Bull., vol. 45, no. 9, pp. 1162–1164, 2010.

C. Y. Tee, G. K. Das, Y. Zhang, and T. T. T. Yang, "Rare earth nanophosphors in light-emitting diodes," in Rare Earth Nanotechnology, Singapore: Pan Stanford Publishing Pte. Ltd., pp. 203–244, 2012.

J. Steckl, J. H. Park, and J. M. Zavada, "Prospects for rare earth doped GaN lasers on Si," Mater. Today, vol. 10, pp. 20–27, 2007.

V. Kumar, O. M. Ntwaeaborwa, J. Holsa, D. E. Motaung, and H. C. Swart, "The role of oxygen and titanium-related defects on the emission of TiO₂:Tb³⁺ nano-phosphor for blue lighting applications," Opt. Mater., vol. 46, pp. 510–516, 2015.

W. Shide, L. Chao, W. Wei, W. Huanxin, S. Yangliang, Z. Youqi, and L. Lingzhen, "Nd-doped SnO₂: characterization and its gas sensing property," J. Rare Earths, vol. 28, pp. 171–173, 2010.

Q. Xiang, G. Meng, Y. Zhang, J. Xu, P. Xu, Q. Pan, and W. Yu, "Ag nanoparticle embedded-ZnO nanorods synthesized via a photochemical method and its gas sensing properties," Sens. Actuators B: Chem., vol. 143, pp. 635–640, 2010.

H. S. Woo, C. H. Kwak, J. H. Chung, and J. H. Lee, "Highly selective and sensitive xylene sensors using Ni-doped branched ZnO nanowire networks," Sens. Actuators B: Chem., vol. 216, pp. 358–366, 2015.

S. Huang, T. Wang, and Q. Xiao, "Effect of Fe doping on the structural and gas sensing properties of ZnO porous microspheres," J. Phys. Chem. Solids, vol. 76, pp. 51–58, 2015.

D. Han, J. Yang, F. Gu, and Z. Wang, "Effects of rare earth elements doping on ethanol gas sensing performance of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous In₂O₃," RSC Adv., 2013.

O. Singh and R. C. Singh, "Enhancement in ethanol sensing response by surface activation of ZnO with SnO₂," Mater. Res. Bull., vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 557–561, 2012.

S. Bai, T. Guo, Y. Zhao, J. Sun, D. Li, A. Chen, and C. C. Liu, "Sensing performance and mechanism of Fe-doped ZnO microflowers," Sens. Actuators B: Chem., vol. 195, pp. 657–666, 2014.

A. Mirzaei, J. H. Kim, H. W. Kim, and S. S. Kim, "Resistive-based gas sensors for detection of benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) gases: A review," J. Mater. Chem. C, vol. 6, pp. 4342–4370, 2018.

H. T. Derraz, N. Benramdane, D. Nacer, A. Bouzidi, and M. Medles, "Investigations on ZnₓCd₁₋ₓO thin films obtained by spray pyrolysis," Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, vol. 73, pp. 249–259, 2002.

R. V. Kumar, K. J. Lethy, P. R. A. Kumar, R. R. Krishnan, N. V. Pillai, V. P. M. Pillai, and R. Philip, "Effect of cadmium oxide incorporation on the microstructural and optical properties of pulsed laser deposited nanostructured zinc oxide thin films," Mater. Chem. Phys., vol. 121, pp. 406–413, 2010.

M. I. Khan, K. A. Bhatti, R. Quindeel, L. G. Bousiakou, N. Alonizan, and F. Alam, "Investigations of the structural, morphological, and electrical properties of multilayer ZnO/TiO₂ thin films deposited by sol-gel technique," Results Phys., vol. 6, pp. 156–160, 2016.

J. K. Rajput, T. K. Pathak, V. Kumar, M. Kumar, and L. P. Purohit, "Annealing temperature dependent investigations on the nano-cauliflower-like structure of CdO thin film grown by sol-gel method," Surf. Interfaces, vol. 6, pp. 11–17, 2017.

W. Guo, T. Liu, R. Sun, Y. Chen, W. Zeng, and Z. Wang, "Hollow, porous, and yttrium functionalized ZnO nanospheres with enhanced gas-sensing performances," Sens. Actuators B: Chem., vol. 178, pp. 53–62, 2013.

V. S. Rana, J. K. Rajput, T. K. Pathak, and L. P. Purohit, "Multilayer MgZnO/ZnO thin films for UV photodetectors," J. Alloys Compd., vol. 764, pp. 724–729, 2018.

M. Thirumoorthi and J. H. J. Prakash, "Structural, morphological characteristics and optical properties of Y-doped ZnO thin films by sol-gel spin coating method," Superlattices Microstruct., vol. 85, pp. 237–247, 2015.

V. S. Rana, J. K. Rajput, T. K. Pathak, and L. P. Purohit, "Cu sputtered Cu/ZnO Schottky diode on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate for optoelectronic applications," Thin Solid Films, vol. 679, pp. 79–85, 2019.

S. Ilicon, M. Caglar, and Y. Caglar, "Sn doping effects on the electro-optical properties of sol-gel derived transparent ZnO films," Appl. Surf. Sci., vol. 256, pp. 7204–7210, 2010.

M. Caglar, Y. Caglar, S. Aksoy, and S. Silicon, "Temperature dependence of the optical bandgap and electrical conductivity of sol-gel derived undoped and Li-doped ZnO films," Appl. Surf. Sci., vol. 256, pp. 4966–4971, 2010.

G. K. Upadhyay, J. K. Rajput, T. K. Pathak, H. C. Swart, and L. P. Purohit, "Photoactive CdO: TiO₂ nanocomposites for dyes degradation under visible light," Mater. Chem. Phys., vol. 253, pp. 123191, 2020.

Z. Liu, B. Liu, W. Xie, H. Li, R. Zhou, Q. Li, and T. Wang, "Enhanced selective acetone sensing characteristics based on Co-doped WO₃ hierarchical flower-like nanostructures assembled with nanoplates," Sens. Actuators B: Chem., vol. 235, pp. 614–621, 2016.

D. R. Miller, S. A. Akbar, and P. A. Morris, "Nanoscale metal oxide-based heterojunctions for gas sensing: A review," Sens. Actuators B: Chem., vol. 204, pp. 250–272, 2014.

Downloads

Published

12-02-2025

How to Cite

[1]
S. Kumar and A. Nehra, “Statistical Analysis of Yttrium-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles for Gas Sensing Applications”, The Nucleus, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 21–26, Feb. 2025.

Issue

Section

Articles