Sensing properties of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by using albumen as a biotemplate for acetic acid monitoring in aqueous mixture

This paper reports the characterization and sensing properties of nanosized zinc oxide particles synthesized by means of an isothermal evaporation method. The synthesis, simple and cost effective, has been assisted by albumen (EA) as a biotemplate agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization of the samples after annealing showed the formation of nano crystalline ZnO having the wurtzite phase structure. Depending on the annealing temperature, the mean particles size of ZnO crystallites were in the 10–30 nm range. The samples were further analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Our objective was to use the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles as sensing material for the monitoring of acetic acid (AA) with resistive-type gas sensors. Therefore, the electrical and sensing properties of thick films of ZnO nanoparticles deposited on alumina substrates provided with Pt interdigited electrodes have been investigated. The sensor devices fabricated have been found very promising for the monitoring of acetic acid in the head-space of AA/aqueous mixtures.