Fabrication of conifer-like TiSnO2 nanorods for sensing H2S gas at room temperature

Abstract

Conifer-like TiSnO₂ nanorods mixed metal oxide was synthesized via the one-pot polyol method utilizing ethylene glycol (EG), poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA), tin(II) chloride dihydrate (SnCl₂·2H₂O), and titanium(IV)-ethylhexanoate (TE) as precursor materials, aimed at room temperature H₂S gas sensing. The effects of polyol duration time and capping agent concentration (PDDA) were examined to explore the morphological, structural, and gas-sensing characteristics, as well as to propose potential growth mechanisms of conifer-like TiSnO₂ nanorods mixed metal oxide. The morphology and composition of the synthesized TiSnO₂ mixed metal oxide were carried out employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The experimental findings demonstrated a significant influence of polyol duration time and PDDA concentration on the morphological evolution of the synthesized TiSnO₂ mixed metal oxide structures. Comparative gas-sensing analysis indicated that the conifer-like TiSnO₂ nanorods mixed metal oxide exhibited the highest response (2.45%) towards H₂S gas at a concentration of 1 ppm, along with a low detection limit (0.20 ppm) and good linearity (R² = 0.9865) within the range of 1–15 ppm of H₂S gas at room temperature.