Preparation and gas-sensing properties of pure and Nd-doped ZnO nanorods by low-heating solid-state chemical reaction

Pure and Nd-doped ZnO nanorods were prepared by simple low-heating solid-state chemical reaction of zinc acetate dihydrate and sodium hydroxide in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at room temperature. The as-prepared products were characterized by XRD, EDS, SEM and TEM. The gas-sensing characteristics of the pure and Nd-doped ZnO nanorods were investigated. The results indicated that the sensor based on 2 at% Nd-doped ZnO nanorods presented much higher sensitivity, better selectivity and shorter response–recovery time to 100 ppm ethanol vapor than the pure ZnO nanorods sensor. The promoting effect on gas-sensing properties of ZnO nanorods seems to result from the catalytic oxidation of ethanol vapor.