1D 2D and 3D anatase TiO2 sensitized with BNQDs for sensitive acetone detection

In this study, one-dimensional titanium dioxide nanorods (TiO2NRs), two-dimensional titanium dioxide nano -plates (TiO2NPs) and three-dimensional titanium dioxide nanospheres (TiO2NSs) sensitized by boron nitride quantum dots (BNQDs) were successfully synthesized via hydrothermal method. The crystal phase, micro-structure and chemical bonding states of the samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS. The results showed that the crystal phase of the three kinds of TiO2 nano materials were all anatase phase. The gas-sensing performances of TiO2-based sensors were also systematically investigated. The testing results displayed that the BNQDs/TiO2NRs, BNQDs/TiO2NPs and BNQDs/TiO2NSs sensors exhibited significant enhancement of gas sensing performance to acetone at 320 degrees C. Among them, the response of BNQDs/TiO2NRs to acetone was 7.76 times that of the pristine TiO2NRs. In addition, all sensors were of fast response time, excellent stability, low detection limit and good selectivity to acetone. The excellent sensing performance of TiO2 sensitized by BNQDs can be ascribed to the synergistic effect of the small size and edge defects of BNQDs, which resulted in the formation of abundant active centers and promoted the generation of more oxygen-active species.