Itai Kamienchick

Bio: Itai Kamienchick is an academic researcher from Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Crystallite & Nanocrystalline material. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 335 citations.

Ultrasensitive and Highly Selective Gas Sensors Based on Electrospun SnO2 Nanofibers Modified by Pd Loading

Abstract: This work presents a new route to suppress grain growth and tune the sensitivity and selectivity of nanocrystalline SnO2 fibers. Unloaded and Pd-loaded SnO2 nanofiber mats are synthesized by electrospinning followed by hot-pressing at 80 °C and calcination at 450 or 600 °C. The chemical composition and microstructure evolution as a function of Pd-loading and calcination temperature are examined using EDS, XPS, XRD, SEM, and HRTEM. Highly porous fibrillar morphology with nanocrystalline fibers comprising SnO2 crystallites decorated with tiny PdO crystallites is observed. The grain size of the SnO2 crystallites in the layers that are calcined at 600 °C decreases with increasing Pd concentration from about 15 nm in the unloaded specimen to about 7 nm in the 40 mol% Pd-loaded specimen, indicating that Pd-loading could effectively suppress the SnO2 grain growth during the calcination step. The Pd-loaded SnO2 sensors have 4 orders of magnitude higher resistivity and exhibit significantly enhanced sensitivity to H2 and lower sensitivity to NO2 compared to their unloaded counterparts. These observations are attributed to enhanced electron depletion at the surface of the PdO-decorated SnO2 crystallites and catalytic effect of PdO in promoting the oxidation of H2 into H2O. These phenomena appear to have a much larger effect on the sensitivity of the Pd-loaded sensors than the reduction in grain size.

Gas Sensors: Ultrasensitive and Highly Selective Gas Sensors Based on Electrospun SnO2 Nanofibers Modified by Pd Loading (Adv. Funct. Mater. 24/2010)

Abstract: This work presents a new route to suppress grain growth and tune the sensitivity and selectivity of nanocrystalline SnO2 fibers. Unloaded and Pd-loaded SnO2 nanofiber mats are synthesized by electrospinning followed by hot-pressing at 80 °C and calcination at 450 or 600 °C. The chemical composition and microstructure evolution as a function of Pd-loading and calcination temperature are examined using EDS, XPS, XRD, SEM, and HRTEM. Highly porous fibrillar morphology with nanocrystalline fibers comprising SnO2 crystallites decorated with tiny PdO crystallites is observed. The grain size of the SnO2 crystallites in the layers that are calcined at 600 °C decreases with increasing Pd concentration from about 15 nm in the unloaded specimen to about 7 nm in the 40 mol% Pd-loaded specimen, indicating that Pd-loading could effectively suppress the SnO2 grain growth during the calcination step. The Pd-loaded SnO2 sensors have 4 orders of magnitude higher resistivity and exhibit significantly enhanced sensitivity to H2 and lower sensitivity to NO2 compared to their unloaded counterparts. These observations are attributed to enhanced electron depletion at the surface of the PdO-decorated SnO2 crystallites and catalytic effect of PdO in promoting the oxidation of H2 into H2O. These phenomena appear to have a much larger effect on the sensitivity of the Pd-loaded sensors than the reduction in grain size.

Synergistic effects in gas sensing semiconducting oxide nano-heterostructures: A review

Abstract: Metal oxide resistive-type nano-scale gas sensors have been investigated for their low cost, high sensitivity, and environmentally friendly fabrication. In these sensors, electrical resistance measurements are used to detect the presence of gas. In n-type metal oxides, resistance is increased by coverage of adsorbed oxygen and lowered by removal of adsorbed oxygen through reactions with reducing gasses. The sensitivity and selectivity of these sensors have been improved by incorporation of heterostructures. Heterostructures may improve sensor performance through facilitating catalytic activity, increasing adsorption, and creating a charge carrier depletion layer that produces a larger modulation in resistance. Synergistic effects in these gas sensors describe the improved sensor signal due to these combined effects which act to amplify the reception and transduction of the sensor signal. Receptive mechanisms may be improved by increasing adsorption and reactivity. Transduction mechanisms may be improved by restriction of the major charge conduction channels which helps to maximize resistance modulation. In this review, the synergistic effect achieved by combining these two mechanisms are examined. Fundamental properties of the metal oxide surface are used to provide insight for the large body of experimental evidence available for metal oxide resistive-type gas sensors. This review aims to connect experimental evidence to conceptual mechanistic descriptions by examining adsorption processes, charge transfer, reaction mechanisms, morphology, and ambient gas interactions.

Selective Detection of Acetone and Hydrogen Sulfide for the Diagnosis of Diabetes and Halitosis Using SnO2 Nanofibers Functionalized with Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanosheets

Abstract: Sensitive detection of acetone and hydrogen sulfide levels in exhaled human breath, serving as breath markers for some diseases such as diabetes and halitosis, may offer useful information for early diagnosis of these diseases. Exhaled breath analyzers using semiconductor metal oxide (SMO) gas sensors have attracted much attention because they offer low cost fabrication, miniaturization, and integration into portable devices for noninvasive medical diagnosis. However, SMO gas sensors often display cross sensitivity to interfering species. Therefore, selective real-time detection of specific disease markers is a major challenge that must be overcome to ensure reliable breath analysis. In this work, we report on highly sensitive and selective acetone and hydrogen sulfide detection achieved by sensitizing electrospun SnO2 nanofibers with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets. SnO2 nanofibers mixed with a small amount (0.01 wt %) of RGO nanosheets exhibited sensitive response to hydrogen sulfide (Rair/Rgas ...