A novel way for the synthesis of tin dioxide sol-gel derived thin films: Application to O3 detection at ambient temperature

This paper deals with the development of SnO2-based thin sensitive layers dedicated to ozone detection at ambient temperature. Working at ambient temperature drastically differs from the results reported in literature concerning the need of working at high temperature (about 350 °C) for achieving the detection of ozone using tin-dioxide-based gas sensors. The sensitive layers developed in the framework of this study were elaborated using the sol-gel process following aqueous or organic way. Compared to those obtained from the aqueous way, the layers synthesized following the alcoholic way showed high response to O3 (58 ppb) when the detection was performed at ambient temperature. The results of the physico-chemical characterization and ozone detection using both layers led to the proposition of an ozone detection mechanism using tin dioxide-based gas sensors. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.