In this work, we report on a high-performance ethanol sensor using Au decorated Ni-doped In₂O₃ nanotubes (NIO-Au NTs). The morphology, microstructure and surface chemistry of pristine In₂O₃, NIO and NIO-Au NTs have been discussed by the analysis of SEM, TEM, XRD and XPS spectra. Gas sensing test results reveal that NIO-Au NTs with optimal Au decorated concentration of 2 mol% (NIO-2 mol% Au) exhibits the highest response of 167 towards 50 ppm ethanol at lower working temperature (180 °C), which is about 18 times and 13 times higher than pristine In₂O₃ NTs and Ni-doped In₂O₃ NTs, respectively. Moreover, some other important gas sensing properties of NIO-2 mol% Au NTs, such as selectivity and stability, have been proved to be greatly improved. The approach and results proposed in this study are attributed to the catalysis of Ni, the spillover effect of Au and formation of Schottky barrier. The proposed functional hybrid nanomaterial-based sensing strategy offers an effective design for highly sensitive and efficient VOC detection devices, which can operate well at low temperatures also.

在这项工作中，我们报告了一种使用Au装饰的Ni掺杂的In ₂ O ₃纳米管（NIO-Au NTs）的高性能乙醇传感器。通过SEM，TEM，XRD和XPS光谱分析，讨论了原始In ₂ O ₃，NIO和NIO-Au NTs的形貌，微观结构和表面化学。气敏测试结果表明，在较低的工作温度（180°C）下，最佳的Au装饰浓度为2 mol％（NIO-2 mol％Au）的NIO-Au NTs对50 ppm乙醇显示167的最高响应分别比原始In ₂ O ₃ NT和Ni掺杂In ₂ O ₃高18倍和13倍NTs。此外，NIO-2 mol％Au NTs的其他一些重要的气体传感特性（如选择性和稳定性）已被证明可以大大提高。本研究中提出的方法和结果归因于镍的催化，金的外溢效应和肖特基势垒的形成。提出的基于功能混合纳米材料的传感策略为高灵敏度和高效的VOC检测设备提供了有效的设计，该设备也可以在低温下良好运行。