Hydrothermal synthesis of CeO2SnO2 nanocomposites with highly enhanced gas sensing performance towards n-butanol

CeO2SnO2 nanocomposite, a sensing material, was successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The structural, optical and morphological properties of as-prepared CeO2SnO2 nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results reveal that the highly crystalline nanocomposite heterostructure is formed, and it possesses a spherical-like morphology with an average grain size of 30 nm. Furthermore, the gas sensing properties towards several volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as n-butanol, isopropanol, ethanol and acetone were studied. Interestingly, comparing with bare SnO2 and CeO2, the CeO2SnO2 sensor shows the highest sensitivity towards n-butanol at an operating temperature of 110 °C. This indicates that the CeO2SnO2 nanocomposite can be a promising candidate for sensor application towards the detection of n-butanol.