title: Self-assembly of gridlike zinc oxide lamellae for chemical-sensing applications.
abstract: Hexagonal gridlike ZnO lamellae (GZL) with uniform thickness are synthesized by the o-phthalic acid-assisted hydrothermal method. Here, a systematic study of the assembly behaviors of gridlike ZnO lamellae obtained by the synergistic effect of urea and o-phthalic acid is presented. The morphology evolution and formation mechanism of GZL are also discussed in detail. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction spectroscopy. The results show that 2D ZnO lamellae are composed of nanotablets, which are jointed to form grids. The length and width of ZnO lamellae are about 1000 and 500 nm, respectively, and the thickness is about 30 nm. GZL morphology evolves from hexagonal ZnO nanotablets to lamellae with grids. The gas-sensing properties indicate that sensors fabricated from different materials present very different responses to volatile organic compounds. A GZL-based sensor has good response to acetaldehyde, and the response and recovery times are 1 and 6 s, respectively, when it was exposed to 1 ppm of acetaldehyde gas. The possibility of tuning the gas-sensing properties by adjusting the morphology makes GZL a novel candidate for more effective detection of a toxic, volatile gas with low concentration.
authors.affiliation: †College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: ‡Shanxi Kunming Tobacco Limited Liability Company, Taiyuan 030012, Shanxi P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ruihua
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: ∥Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Science, Taiyuan 030001, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: †College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Heyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: §Research Institute of Special Chemicals, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jinping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: ∥Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Science, Taiyuan 030001, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhenping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D002623:Chemistry Techniques, Analytical / Q000379:methods; D003217:Conductometry / Q000379:methods*; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D015034:Zinc Oxide
keywords: hexagonal nanotablet; morphology; self-assembly; sensing property; zinc oxide