Highly sensitive and selective LPG sensor based on α-Fe2O3 nanorods

The α-Fe2O3 nanorods were successfully synthesized without any templates by calcining the α-FeOOH precursor in air at 300 °C for 2 h and their LPG sensing characteristics were investigated. The α-FeOOH precursor was prepared through a simple and low cost wet chemical route at low temperature (40 °C) using FeSO4·7H2O and CH3COONa as starting materials. The formation of α-FeOOH precursor and its topotactic transformation to α-Fe2O3 upon calcination was confirmed by X-ray diffraction measurement (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. The α-Fe2O3 nanorods exhibited outstanding gas sensing characteristics such as, higher gas response (∼1746–50 ppm LPG at 300 °C), extremely rapid response (∼3–4 s), relatively slow recovery (∼8–9 min), excellent repeatability, good selectivity and lower operating temperature (∼300 °C). Furthermore, the α-Fe2O3 nanorods are able to detect up to 5 ppm for LPG with reasonable response (∼15) at the operating temperature of 300 °C and they can be reliably used to monitor the concentration of LPG over the range (5–60 ppm). The experimental results clearly demonstrate the potential of using the α-Fe2O3 nanorods as sensing material in the fabrication of LPG sensors. Plausible LP G sensing mechanism of the α-Fe2O3 nanorods is also discussed.