Preparation of tin oxide/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites and its application for detection of partial discharge in SF6 gas

The detection of dissociated SF₆ species, generated by partial discharge (PD), is of great importance because the dissociated compositions can alter inherent potential of SF₆ and pose safety risks to power systems. Here we report that the sensitivity of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) about dissociated species of SF₆ substantially increases by functionalizing with Tin oxide (SnO₂). SnO₂/MWCNTs nanocomposites was prepared by a simple route that included in situ growth of SnO₂ on the surface of MWCNTs through hydrothermal method in this work and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis techniques. The chemical sensors based on SnO₂/MWCNTs nanocomposites exhibited good sensitivity in response to decomposition components at room temperature. The work provides an appropriate functionalization methodology to conduct the dissociated SF6 species monitoring.