Synthesis and Gas-Sensing Properties of Hollow Sea Urchin-Like α-Fe2O3 Nanostructure

Hollow sea urchin-like α-Fe2O3 nanostructures has been successfully prepared by a hydrothermal method using Fe(NO3)3·9H2O and Na2SO4 as starting materials. The structure and morphology of α-Fe2O3 were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The hollow sea urchin-like α-Fe2O3 nanostructures with the diameters of 2-5 μm consist of well-aligned α-Fe2O3 nanorods growing radically from the centers of the nanostructures. Gas sensing properties of the hollow sea urchin-like α-Fe2O3 nanostructures were measured to ammonia, LPG, ethanol, acetone. The experimental results showed that the α-Fe2O3 nanostructures are promising gas sensing material for the detection of flammable and toxic gases with good-sensing characteristics. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2011.508]