Studies on ZrO2 nanoparticles for gas sensing application

Abstract

Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) nanoparticles were synthesized using co-precipitation technique and their structural, particle size, UV-Visible (UV–vis), and gas sensing properties were studied. In this paper, the particle size-dependent properties of ZrO2 have been investigated. XRD analysis indicated that the crystal structure of ZrO2 nanoparticles varies with sintering temperature, while crystallite size decreases with an increase in sintering temperature. A small variation in the optical energy band gap is observed in UV–vis spectroscopy. Resistance versus time data was carried out for the gas sensing application, and it was observed that the particle size and nature of the gas play a key role in the sensing of the gases. In the present case, ZrO2 nanoparticles possess more sensitivity to acetone than methanol.