3D porous flower-like SnO2 microstructure and its gas sensing properties for ethanol

•We have fabricated porous SnO2 nanoflowers using a simple hydrothermal route.•The sensitivity of porous SnO2 nanoflowers are about 208 for 500 ppm ethanol at 300 °C.•The porous SnO2 nanoflowers could be a good candidate for fabricating effective ethanol sensors.

The porous flower-like SnO2 architecture, consisting of numerous aggregative nanosheets was successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal process and subsequent calcination. The morphology and gas-sensing property were mainly studied. The pores on its surface provided much active center and gas diffusion ways. The sensor based on this architecture showed the high response, fast response/recovery time and good selectivity toward ethanol at 300 °C. The sensitivity was about 208 and the response-recovery time were around 8 and 7 s for 500 ppm ethanol, respectively. The results indicated that porous flower-like SnO2 architecture was a potential candidate for fabricating effective ethanol sensor. Furthermore, the possible growth mechanism and the ethanol sensing mechanism of the architecture were discussed, too.