Method for synthesizing ZnO of different nanostructures by electrospinning and study of their gas sensing properties

Abstract

The properties of nanomaterials usually depend on their microstructures, the same material of different microstructures could be used for various applications. However, most devices could only synthesize a single microstructure, so it is meaningful that the different microstructures were synthesized by one method. In our study, electrospinning was applied to fabricate ZnO nanofibers and nanoparticles. In this approach, Zn(Ac)/PVP composite fibers of different component ratio were synthesized by electrospinning method which was subsequently calcined and formed ZnO nanofibers and nanoparticles. The microstructure, chemical composition and gas sensing were investigated with scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and WS-60A gas sensing measurement system. The synthesis mechanisms of ZnO nanofibers and nanoparticles were discussed in detail.