One-pot controlled synthesis of single-crystal α-Fe2O3 hollow nanostructure and its gas sensing properties

Abstract

A series of single-crystal α-Fe₂O₃ nanostructures with tunable morphologies have been prepared via a simple one-pot solvothermal synthesis. The as-prepared nanoparticles were fully characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HR-TEM), selective area electron diffraction (SAED), N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms, and other techniques. The morphologies of the products can be easily adjusted by controlling the amount of NaAc added; with the amount of NaAc increasing the shell thickness of hollow spheres decreases, till the hollow structures disappeared and changed to nanoflower aggregates. Reaction temperature and the solvent ratio also play important roles in the synthesis of hollow nanospheres. The gas sensing properties of the as-prepared samples were also investigated. The results showed that the samples exhibited good gas sensing properties towards acetone vapor, and the gas sensing behavior was related to the morphologies of the samples.