Synthesis of Ni-doped ZnO nanorods by hydrothermal route and its gas sensing properties

In this work, we propose a novel method for the synthesis Ni-doped ZnO nanorods, analytical grade zinc acetate dehydrate [Zn(Ac)₂.2H₂0], nickel acetate [Ni(Ac)₂.4H₂0], sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) were used. All the reagents were used as received (Sigma Aldrich, USA) without further purification. Various (Zn_l-xNi_x)O (x = 0.01, 0.06, and 0.10) nanorods were obtained via a facile hydrothermal method. This work aims at preparing sensing material of Ni-doped ZnO nanorods by hydrothermal process, and testing their sensing properties for detection of toxic gases. The growth mechanism, morphology, as well as gas sensing properties of the Ni-doped ZnO nanorods were systematically studied in this paper.