High performance acetone gas sensor based on ultrathin porous NiO nanosheet

This paper discusses the direct fabrication of ultrathin Ni(OH)2 nanosheets on substrates via a facile solvothermal process, which is free from the use of additional surfactants. The precursor is converted into porous NiO nanosheets via heat treatment. The thickness and morphology of the nanosheets is controlled by manipulating the ethanol content in the solvent. The acetone sensing performance of all samples has been evaluated, as observed, the 75% ethanol-based NiO gas sensor (NiO-75), demonstrates ultrahigh acetone sensitivity, the response value can reach 60%, when the NiO nanosheet sensor detects 100 ppb acetone gas, ultralow detection limit (0.8 ppb acetone), and good stability. The excellent sensing performance of the NiO nanosheets can be attributed to their porous structure, which provides a large surface area and crystal facet with affinity to acetone gas. Moreover, the porous structure facilitates the diffusion of gas samples and products to improve the acetone detection sensitivity. Furthermore, the NiO-75 sensor demonstrates superior acetone selectivity, against other interfering gases. The findings of this study indicate that low cost NiO nanosheets fabricated via a simple process could be considered as potential, candidates for use in commercial acetone sensing applications.,