An efficient room-temperature liquefied petroleum gas sensor based on trirutile copper antimonate nano-polygons

Abstract

In this paper, the synthesis, characterization and sensing applications (in terms of liquefied petroleum gas and carbon dioxide gas) of copper antimonate (CuSb₂O₆) nano-polygons have been reported. The sensing surface was decorated with nano-polygons on a porous network. Structural characterization revealed the crystalline nature of CuSb₂O₆ with a crystallite size of 21 nm. The optical properties (UV-visible absorption and Fourier transform infrared absorption) of the annealed and as-synthesized CuSb₂O₆ were also studied. Further, an effort was made towards the development of an LPG sensor using the CuSb₂O₆ films that are characterized by high sensitivity, high stability, short response and recovery times, and most importantly, room-temperature (27 °C) operation. Examination of the gas sensing properties showed that the CuSb₂O₆ nano-polygons exhibited better response towards liquefied petroleum gas adsorption than carbon dioxide. The possible surface-sensing mechanism of the decorated surface on exposure to the target gas has also been discussed. The gas-sensing properties demonstrated that the CuSb₂O₆ nano-polygons are promising candidates for high-performance LPG sensors that operate at room temperature.