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Vol. 17 (2025)

Ultrasensitive Chemiresistive Gas Sensors Based on Dual-Mesoporous Zinc Stannate Composites for Room Temperature Rice Quality Monitoring

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01645-5
Jinyong Xu
College of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, People’s Republic of China
Xuxiong Fan
College of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, People’s Republic of China
Kaichun Xu
College of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, People’s Republic of China
Kaidi Wu
College of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, People’s Republic of China
Hanlin Liao
ICB UMR 6303, CNRS, Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UTBM, 90010 Belfort, France
Chao Zhang
College of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Chao Zhang

zhangc@yzu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 17 (2025), Article Number: 115

Abstract

The integration of dual-mesoporous structures, the construction of heterojunctions, and the incorporation of highly concentrated oxygen vacancies are pivotal for advancing metal oxide-based gas sensors. Nonetheless, achieving an optimal design that simultaneously combines mesoporous structures, precise heterojunction modulation, and controlled oxygen vacancies through a one-step process remains challenging. This study proposes an innovative method for fabricating zinc stannate semiconductors featuring dual-mesoporous structures and tunable oxygen vacancies via a direct solution precursor plasma spray technique. As a proof of concept, the resulting zinc stannate-based coatings are applied to detect 2-undecanone, a key biomarker for rice aging. Remarkably, the zinc oxide/zinc stannate heterojunctions with a well-defined secondary pore structure exhibit exceptional gas-sensing performance for 2-undecanone at room temperature. Furthermore, practical experiments indicate that the developed sensor effectively identifies adulteration in various rice varieties. These results underscore the potential of this method for designing metal oxides with tailored properties for high-performance gas sensors. The enhanced adsorption capacity and dual-mesoporous features of this semiconductor make it a promising candidate for sensing applications in agricultural food safety inspections.


Highlights:
1 Dual-mesoporous heterostructured semiconducting metal oxides were directly fabricated using a simple template-free method, optimizing porosity and improving surface area for enhanced gas-sensing.
2 The fabricated sensor exhibited high sensitivity (11.03 for 13 ppm), a rapid response time (21 s), and an impressively low theoretical detection limit (431 ppb) for 2-Undecanone at room temperature.
3 An innovative real-time method was developed for analyzing characteristic biomarkers of rice aging, enabling accurate and timely monitoring of rice quality.

Keywords

Zinc stannate Semiconductors Dual-mesoporous structure Gas sensor Biomarker sensing
Xu, Jinyong, Xuxiong Fan, Kaichun Xu, Kaidi Wu, Hanlin Liao, and Chao Zhang. 2025. “Ultrasensitive Chemiresistive Gas Sensors Based on Dual-Mesoporous Zinc Stannate Composites for Room Temperature Rice Quality Monitoring”. Nano-Micro Letters 17 (January):115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01645-5.
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