Room-temperature ammonia detection using NiCo2O4/rGONRs nanocomposites: the role of annealing temperature
摘要
In the present study, an efficient and sensitive NH3 sensor was fabricated by decorating NiCo2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) onto reduced graphene oxide nanoribbons (rGONRs). In order to study the effect of thermal treatment on structural and electrical properties, the nanocomposites were annealed at different temperatures (200, 400, and 600 °C). Their structural and crystallographic properties were carefully investigated by XRD, FESEM-EDX, and TEM. The robust synergistic interaction between rGONRs and NiCo2O4 greatly contributed to the enhancement of sensing performance via enhancing the active surface area and the electrical conductivity. Furthermore, the annealing temperature was found to play a significant role to tailor the crystalline structure, thus affecting the response characteristics of the sensor. Remarkably, the NiCo2O4/rGONRs-600 sensor showed excellent performance in detecting 6.0 ppm of NH3 gas within merely 23 s. The findings reveal the potential of NiCo2O4/rGONRs-600 as a favorable electrode material for high-performance electrical sensing application.