Microwave assisted fast synthesis of various ZnO morphologies for selective detection of CO, CH4 and ethanol

ZnO nanocrystals with various morphologies were synthesized via a fast and facile microwave assisted method using zinc acetate as starting material, guanidinium and acetyl acetone as structure directing agents, and water as solvent. Reaction conditions, templates and pH of the reaction medium were adjusted in order to achieve nanorod, nanoparticle, and flower-like morphologies. As synthesized ZnO samples were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and nitrogen adsorption analysis (BET). Response and selectivity of the samples to CO, CH4 and ethanol were measured in a flow system. It is shown that different morphologies of ZnO nanoparticles exhibit different responses and selectivities. Flower-like morphology is highly selective to CO, while nanorods and nanoparticles are selective to methane and ethanol, respectively. Moreover, in a wide range of temperatures, response of ZnO nanorods and nanoparticles towards CO is temperature independent.