SYNTHESIS OF ZnO NANOPARTICLES-REDUCED GRAPHENE OXIDE COMPOSITES AND THEIR INTRINSIC GAS SENSING PROPERTIES

A ZnO nanoparticles (NPs)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite was fabricated via a simple one-step solvothermal method with graphene oxide (GO) and Zn(NO3)2 ⋅ 6H2O as the precursors. The morphology, crystal structure and optical properties of the synthesized materials were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The synthesized composite exhibited rGO layers assorted with tiny ZnO NPs. rGO supposedly acted as a template in the solvothermal process, that may promote the preferential attachment of ZnO NPs and prevented the agglomeration of ZnO NPs in the synthesized composite. It was also found that the electrical properties of the composite improved markedly with bare ZnO NPs, without significantly changing the morphology and crystal structure of the ZnO NPs. The main aim of this research is to develop an efficient sensor and to understand the effect of graphene in sensing characteristics. The synthesized composite was exposed to H2, CO and C2H2 gases to confirm its feasibility for gas sensing, and the results showed preferential detection of reducing gases at low temperature.