Nanostructure evolution of zinc stannate: A suitable material for liquefied petroleum gas detection

We successfully synthesized a semiconducting zinc stannate (Zn2SnO4) - with a face-centred cubic spinel structure, a band gap (Eg = 3.4eV), and a crystallite size of 29 nm - by co-precipitation. Post-thermal treatment revealed three transition temperatures: 500 °C, 700 °C and 1000 °C. We systematically monitored the formation of different nanostructures by changing the annealing temperature through diverse characterization techniques such as thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA, DTA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible and Raman spectroscopies, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). Our characterization data demonstrate a novel and facile way to synthesize fine quality zinc stannate (Zn2SnO4) nanoparticles with the specific surface area of 17 (m2g−1). The achieved features make the sample a potential candidate for the fabrication of a gas detection sensor. After exposing the gas sensing characteristics of the resulting Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles to several gases, we found out that it demonstrates outstanding sensitivity, response and recovery time, and selectivity towards liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).