Sensors 2013, 13(3), 3432-3444; doi:10.3390/s130303432
Article

Chromium and Ruthenium-Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films for Propane Sensing Applications

Heberto Gómez-Pozos 1 , José Luis González-Vidal 1 email, Gonzalo Alberto Torres 1 email, Jorge Rodríguez-Baez 1 email, Arturo Maldonado 2 email, María de la Luz Olvera 2 email, Dwight Roberto Acosta 3 email, Maximino Avendaño-Alejo 4 email and Luis Castañeda 5,* email
1 Computación, ICBI, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo, Apartaddo Postal 42000, Mexico 2 Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica-SEES, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CINVESTAV-IPN, Apartado postal 14740, Mexico D.F. 07000, Mexico 3 Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 20-364, México, D.F. 01000, Mexico 4 Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-186, 04510, D.F. 07340, Mexico 5 Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica Unidad Ticomán, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico, D.F. 07340, Mexico
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 4 January 2013; in revised form: 17 February 2013 / Accepted: 6 March 2013 / Published: 12 March 2013
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Tools in Electrochemical Sensing)
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Abstract: Chromium and ruthenium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Cr) and (ZnO:Ru) thin solid films were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates by the sol-gel dip-coating method. A 0.6 M solution of zinc acetate dihydrate dissolved in 2-methoxyethanol and monoethanolamine was used as basic solution. Chromium (III) acetylacetonate and Ruthenium (III) trichloride were used as doping sources. The Ru incorporation and its distribution profile into the films were proved by the SIMS technique. The morphology and structure of the films were studied by SEM microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements, respectively. The SEM images show porous surfaces covered by small grains with different grain size, depending on the doping element, and the immersions number into the doping solutions. The sensing properties of ZnO:Cr and ZnO:Ru films in a propane (C3H8) atmosphere, as a function of the immersions number in the doping solution, have been studied in the present work. The highest sensitivity values were obtained for films doped from five immersions, 5.8 and 900, for ZnO:Cr and ZnO:Ru films, respectively. In order to evidence the catalytic effect of the chromium (Cr) and ruthenium (Ru), the sensing characteristics of undoped ZnO films are reported as well.
Keywords: zinc oxide; thin solid films; sol-gel

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MDPI and ACS Style

Gómez-Pozos, H.; González-Vidal, J.L.; Torres, G.A.; Rodríguez-Baez, J.; Maldonado, A.; de la Luz Olvera, M.; Acosta, D.R.; Avendaño-Alejo, M.; Castañeda, L. Chromium and Ruthenium-Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films for Propane Sensing Applications. Sensors 2013, 13, 3432-3444.

AMA Style

Gómez-Pozos H, González-Vidal JL, Torres GA, Rodríguez-Baez J, Maldonado A, de la Luz Olvera M, Acosta DR, Avendaño-Alejo M, Castañeda L. Chromium and Ruthenium-Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films for Propane Sensing Applications. Sensors. 2013; 13(3):3432-3444.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gómez-Pozos, Heberto; González-Vidal, José L.; Torres, Gonzalo A.; Rodríguez-Baez, Jorge; Maldonado, Arturo; de la Luz Olvera, María; Acosta, Dwight R.; Avendaño-Alejo, Maximino; Castañeda, Luis. 2013. "Chromium and Ruthenium-Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films for Propane Sensing Applications." Sensors 13, no. 3: 3432-3444.

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