Enhanced detection of nitrogen dioxide via combined heating and pulsed UV operation of indium oxide nano-octahedra

• Oriol Gonzalez,
• Sergio Roso,
• Xavier Vilanova and
• Eduard Llobet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1507–1518, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.144

• the use of combined heating and pulsed UV light activation of indium oxide gas sensors for enhancing their performance in the detection of nitrogen dioxide in air. Indium oxide nano-octahedra were synthesized at high temperature (900 °C) via vapour-phase transport and screen-printed onto alumina

• transducers that comprised interdigitated electrodes and a heating resistor. Compared to the standard, constant temperature operation of the sensor, mild heating (e.g., 100 °C) together with pulsed UV light irradiation employing a commercially available, 325 nm UV diode (square, 1 min period, 15 mA drive

• light, which convey important information for the quantitative analysis of nitrogen dioxide. Keywords: dynamic gas sensing; indium oxide; nitrogen dioxide; pulsed UV light; UV-activated metal oxide; Introduction Technological barriers related to sensor performance and power consumption are currently