Effect of Ti on the gas sensing characteristic of (Ti0.5Sn0.5)O2 solid solutions

In this work we report microstructure and gas sensing property of the pristine SnO2 and (Ti,Sn)O2 solid solutions prepared via the hydrothermal method. Of all the examined volatile organic compound gases, the (Ti,Sn)O2 solid solution exhibits somewhat lower gas response as compared to that of pristine SnO2. Further, we perform a first principles calculation to establish a surface model for solid solution and estimate its atomic configuration. The tightness of Ti6C(Sn6C)O2C bond and high oxygen vacancy formation energy for solid solution suggest that less amount of pre-adsorbed oxygen was formed on the surface, ultimately resulting in sensing performance weakening.