NO2 Sensing Behavior of Compacted Chemically Treated Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

This article is devoted to the investigation of the sensing behavior of chemically treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) at room temperature. Chemical treatment of MWNTs was carried out with a solution of either sulfuric or chromic acids. The materials obtained were investigated by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman-spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The active layer of chemiresistive gas sensors was obtained by cold pressing (compaction) at 11 MPa of powders of bare and treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The sensing properties of pellets were investigated using a custom dynamic type of station at room temperature (25 +/- 2 degrees C). Detection of NO2 was performed in synthetic air (79 vol% N-2, 21 vol% O-2). It was found that the chemical treatment significantly affects the sensing properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes, which is indicated by increasing the response of the sensors toward 100-500 ppm NO2 and lower concentrations.