Trimodally porous SnO2 nanospheres with threedimensional interconnectivity and size tunability: A one-pot synthetic route and potential application as an extremely sensitive ethanol detector

Ji Wook Yoon, Seung Ho Choi, Jun Sik Kim, Ho Won Jang, Yun Chan Kang, Jong Heun Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

71 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The rapid and effective transfer of chemical reactants to solid surfaces through porous structures is essential for enhancing the performance of nanomaterials for various energy and environmental applications. In this paper, we report a facile one-pot spray pyrolysis method for preparing highly reactant-accessible and porous SnO2 spheres, which have three-dimensionally interconnected and size-tunable trimodal (microscale, mesoscale and macroscale) pores. For this synthetic method, macroscale polystyrene spheres and mesoscale-diameter, long carbon nanotubes were used as sacrificial templates. The promising potential of the SnO2 spheres with trimodal pores (sizes ∼3, 20 and 100 nm) was demonstrated by the unprecedentedly high response to several p.p.b. levels of ethanol. Such an ultrahigh response to ethanol is explained with respect to the hierarchical porosity and pore-size-dependent gas diffusion mechanism.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere244
JournalNPG Asia Materials
Volume8
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016 Mar 25

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Modelling and Simulation
  • Materials Science(all)
  • Condensed Matter Physics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Trimodally porous SnO2 nanospheres with threedimensional interconnectivity and size tunability: A one-pot synthetic route and potential application as an extremely sensitive ethanol detector'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this