One-step synthesis and gas sensing characteristics of hierarchical SnO2 nanorods modified by Pd loading

The hierarchical unloaded and Pd-loaded SnO2 nanostructures, consisting of many aggregative nanorods were prepared by one-step hydrothermal method. A possible formation mechanism of these hierarchical structures was proposed. The butanone sensing properties of the sensors based on unloaded and hierarchical Pd-loaded SnO2 nanorods were investigated. The results indicate that the response of sensor using hierarchical Pd-loaded SnO2 nanorods to 1000 ppm butanone was 451 at 250 °C, which was about 10 times higher than that of sensor based on unloaded SnO2. Such enhanced gas sensing performances can be attributed to both the chemical and the electrical contribution of Pd loading.