Trimethylamine and ethanol sensing properties of NiGa^sub 2^O^sub 4^ nano-materials prepared by co-precipitation method

NiGa2O4 nano-materials were prepared by co-precipitation method. The precursor was analyzed by TG-DSC. The as-prepared samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, N2 adsorption-desorption, FTIR, XPS and UV–vis DRS, respectively. The gas-sensing properties of NiGa2O4 nano-materials were investigated. It was found that the sensor based on NiGa2O4 nanomaterial (600 °C, 6 h) exhibited good response and high selectivity to trimethylamine vapor at room temperature and ethanol vapor at 413 °C. The responses of the sensor based on NiGa2O4 nanomaterial (600 °C, 6 h) to 10 ppm trimethylamine and 10 ppm ethanol reached 1.6 at room temperature and 1.2 at 413 °C, respectively; the detection limits for trimethylamine and ethanol were all 10 ppm; especially, the response times and the recovery times for 10 ppm trimethylamine and 10 ppm ethanol were all shorter than 4 s. The NiGa2O4 nanomaterial (600 °C, 6 h) is a potential trimethylamine-sensing and ethanol-sensing material if its long-term gas sensing stability is improved.