Acetone sensing characteristics of Pd2+-doped ZnO nanowires at room temperature

Pd²⁺-doped ZnO nanowires were prepared and studied for the detection of acetone. The gas sensors were obtained by combining a quartz crystal as a transducer and Pd2+-doped ZnO nanowires as sensing elements. The ZnO nanowires were synthesized by evaporating highly pure zinc pellets (99.999%) at 900° C in air and PdC12 was doped by a traditional solution mixing process. Then the mixed solution was distributed onto the electrode surfaces of the quartz crystal at room temperature to construct an acetone sensor. The experimental results indicate that Pd2+-doped ZnO nanowires coated quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor have high sensitivity and good linearity in the range of 100-10000 ppm as well as good frequency stability and reproducibility.