Ammonia (NH₃) is a harmful gas contaminant that is part of the nitrogen cycle in our daily lives. Therefore, highly sensitive ammonia sensors are important for environmental protection and human health. However, it is difficult to detect low concentrations of ammonia (≤50 ppm) using conventional means at room temperature. Tin monoxide (SnO), a member of IV⁻VI metal monoxides, has attracted much attention due to its low cost, environmental-friendly nature, and higher stability compared with other non-oxide ammonia sensing material like alkaline metal or polymer, which made this material an ideal alternative for ammonia sensor applications. In this work, we fabricated high-sensitive ammonia sensors based on self-assembly SnO nanoshells via a solution method and annealing under 300 °C for 1 h. The as fabricated sensors exhibited the response of 313%, 874%, 2757%, 3116%, and 3757% (∆G/G) under ammonia concentration of 5 ppm, 20 ppm, 50 ppm, 100 ppm, and 200 ppm, respectively. The structure of the nanoshells, which have curved shells that provide shelters for the core and also possess a large surface area, is able to absorb more ammonia molecules, leading to further improvements in the sensitivity. Further, the SnO nanoshells have higher oxygen vacancy densities compared with other metal oxide ammonia sensing materials, enabling it to have higher performance. Additionally, the selectivity of ammonia sensors is also outstanding. We hope this work will provide a reference for the study of similar structures and applications of IV⁻VI metal monoxides in the gas sensor field.
Keywords: ammonia sensor; nanoshell; solution method; tin monoxide.