Calcination Method Synthesis of SnO(2)/g-C(3)N(4) Composites for a High-Performance Ethanol Gas Sensing Application

The SnO(2)/g-C(3)N(4) composites were synthesized via a facile calcination method by using SnCl(4)·5H(2)O and urea as the precursor. The structure and morphology of the as-synthesized composites were characterized by the techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD), the field-emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), thermal gravity and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), and N(2)-sorption. The analysis results indicated that the as-synthesized samples possess the two dimensional structure. Additionally, the SnO(2) nanoparticles were highly dispersed on the surface of the g-C(3)N(4)nanosheets. The gas-sensing performance of the as-synthesized composites for different gases was tested. Moreover, the composite with 7 wt % g-C(3)N(4) content (SnO(2)/g-C(3)N(4)-7) SnO(2)/g-C(3)N(4)-7 exhibits an admirable gas-sensing property to ethanol, which possesses a higher response and better selectivity than that of the pure SnO(2)-based sensor. The high surface area of the SnO(2)/g-C(3)N(4) composite and the good electronic characteristics of the two dimensional graphitic carbon nitride are in favor of the elevated gas-sensing property.